•       «l 

.over  Florida 

"if  A  T"*  1      1 

\    ;  \  /  •  $      x^  01 

las 


Charles  Torrey  Simpson. 


9* 


Lower  Florida  Liguus 


In 
Lower  Florida  Wilds 


EXPLANATION   OF  FRONTISPIECE 

,  and  Geology 

1.  Liguus  fasciatus  testudineus  Pilsbry.     Brickell  Hammock,  Miami. 

2.  Liguus  fasciatus  lineolatus  Simpson.     Totten's  Key,  Upper  Keys. 

3.  Liguus  solidus  lineatus  Simpson.     Lignumvitae  Key,  Upper  Keys. 

4.  Liguus  fasciatus  castaneozonatus  Pilsbry,  var.     Paradise  Key,  Bade  Co. 

5.  Liguus  fasciatus  elegans  Simpson.     Island  S.W.  of  Paradise  Key. 

6.  Liguus  fasciatus  roseatus  Pilsbry.     Long  Key,  Everglades. 

7.  Liguus  crenatus  marmoratus  Pilsbry,  var.     Brickell  Hammock,  Miami. 

8.  Liguus  fasciatus  alternatus  Simpson.     Timb's  Hammock,  Dade  Co. 

9.  Liguus  fasciatus  castaneozonatus  Pilsbry,  var.     Key  Vaca,  Upper  Keys. 

10.  Liguus  crenatus  eburneus  Simpson.     Timb's  Hammock,  Dade  Co. 

11.  Liguus  fasciatus  hybrid.     Paradise  Key,  Dade  Co. 

12.  Liguus  fasciatus  versicolor  Simpson.     Long  Key,  Everglades. 

13.  Liguus  solidus  lignumvitce  Pilsbry.     Lignumvitas  Key,  Upper  Keys. 

14.  Liguus  fasciatus  roseatus  Pilsbry,  var.     Long  Key,  Everglades. 

15.  Liguus  fasciatus  castaneozonatus  Pilsbry.     Paradise  Key. 

1 6.  Liguus  crenatus  septentrionalis  Pilsbry.     Fort  Lauderdale,  Broward  Co. 

(Reduced  one-fourth  in  length) 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 
New  York  and  London 

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In 
Lower  Florida  Wilds 

A  Naturalist's  Observations  on  the  Life, 

Physical  Geography,  and  Geology 

of  the  more  tropical  part 

of  the  State 


By 
Charles  Torrey  Simpson 


With  Sixty-four  Illustrations  and  Two  Maps 


G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  and  London 

Cbe    "Knickerbocker    press 


COPYRIGHT,  1920 

BY 
CHARLES  TORREY  SIMPSON 

Second  Impression 


Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


So 
JOHN  BROOKS  HENDERSON 

FRIEND   AND  COMPANION   OF  MANY   CRUISES   AND    SCIENTIFIC 
EXPEDITIONS,   THIS   BOOK    IS   GRATEFULLY   DEDICATED 


2051G18 


In  Lower 
Florida  Wilds 

By 

Charles  Torrey  Simpson 

8°.     64  Illustrations  and  2  Maps 

Here  we  have  the  keen  and  delightful 
observations  of  a  naturalist  who  wanders 
through  one  of  the  most  fascinating  and 
inaccessible  quarters  of  our  great  conti- 
nent. He  studies  and  here  comments 
arrestingly  on  the  strange  life-forms,  the 
physical  geography,  and  the  geology  of  the 
more  tropical  part  of  the  State  of  Florida. 
This  volume  will  be  quite  as  fascinating 
to  the  layman  as  to  the  trained  naturalist. 
The  illustrations  are  a  delightful  supple- 
ment to  the  text. 

Q.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  London 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  following  pages  are  the  result  of  ob- 
servations and  experiences  in  the  wilds 
of  the  lower  part  of  Florida  during  more 
than  twenty  years  of  residence  in  the 
region.  From  1882  till  1886  I  made  my  home  on 
the  southwest  coast  of  the  State  and  have  lived 
near  Miami  since  1902.  When  I  first  came  to  the 
State  the  greater  part  of  Lower  Florida  was  an 
unbroken  wilderness,  and  during  the  time  I  have 
been  here  I  have  quite  thoroughly  explored  the 
territory  described  in  this  volume  both  as  a  col- 
lector and  general  naturalist.  To-day  most  of  its 
hammocks  are  destroyed,  the  streams  are  being 
dredged  out  and  deepened,  the  Everglades  are 
nearly  drained ;  even  the  pine  forests  are  being  cut 
down.  At  the  time  when  I  first  resided  in  the 
State  flamingos,  roseate  spoonbills,  scarlet  ibises, 
and  the  beautiful  plumed  herons  were  abundant. 
Deer  and  otter  could  be  seen  at  any  time  and  the 
west  coast  waters  were  alive  with  immense  schools 


vi  INTRODUCTION 

of  mullet  and  other  fish,  while  manatee  were  not 
rare.  The  streams  and  swamps  were  full  of  alli- 
gators; in  fact  the  wonderful  wild  fauna  of  our 
region  filled  the  land  and  the  waters  everywhere. 
It  has  seemed  to  me  fitting  that  some  record  of 
this  life  should'  be  made,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it 
is  so  rapidly  disappearing — and  forever.  Already 
a  number  of  species  of  our  animals  and  plants  are 
exterminated  from  this  the  only  area  in  the  United 
States  in  which  they  have  ever  been  found. 

In  writing  of  our  animals  and  plants  I  have  made 
no  attempt  to  use  the  very  latest  scientific  names 
applied  to  them.  Every  new  manual  changes  a  large 
proportion  of  these,  for  our  scientific  nomenclature 
seems  to  be  in  an  unhappy  period  of  transition. 

I  am  under  great  obligations  to  Mr.  John  B. 
Henderson  for  repeated  cruises  made  with  him  in 
his  dredging  boat  the  Eolis,  and  for  many  col- 
lecting trips  in  Cuba,  Jamaica,  Haiti,  and  the 
Bahamas,  where  I  was  able  to  study  much  of  the 
tropical  life  of  Lower  Florida  where  it  originated; 
also  for  much  assistance  in  preparing  this  volume. 

Dr.  John  K.  Small,  of  the  New  York  Botanical 
Garden,  has  been  my  companion  and  mentor 
during  a  great  many  collecting  trips  in  our  terri- 


INTRODUCTION  vii 

tory,  and  has  most  generously  placed  at  my  dis- 
posal a  large  number  of  photographs  made  by  him 
in  the  almost  untrodden  wilds.  Mr.  Charles  Deer- 
ing  has  shown  me  unnumbered  favors  in  making 
me  a  member  of  collecting  expeditions  on  his  boat 
the  Barbee.  Mr.  Wilson  Popenoe  of  the  U.  S.  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  Professor  Frances  G.  Smith 
of  Smith  College,  and  Dr.  Roland  Harper  have  fur- 
nished a  number  of  photographs  and  rendered  val- 
uable assistance.  Dr.  E.  H.  Sellards,  former  State 
Geologist  of  Florida,  contributed  the  map  showing 
the  Pleistocene  subsidence  and  has  made  valuable 
suggestions.  Mr.  E.  Ben  Carter,  Chief  Engineer 
of  the, Florida  East  Coast  Railway,  has  kindly 
allowed  me  to  use  the  excellent  map  of  a  part  of 
Monroe  and  Dade  counties  which  was  made  from 
surveys  for  the  extension  of  that  road. 

The  map  accompanying  the  text  of  this  volume 
was  drawn  by  the  author  in  pencil  and  inked  and 
lettered  by  Mr.  Forrest  Clark.  The  fine  work  of 
the  map  of  the  East  Coast  Railway  has  been 
freely  copied  with  the  permission  of  Mr.  Carter. 

C.  T.  S. 

LITTLE  RIVER,  FLORIDA, 
April  22,  1919. 


NOTABLE  FLORIDA^ANCTUARIEST~ 

Within  a  few  years  Florida  has  become  noted  for  its  bird  sanctuaries, 
Federal,  State,  county,  municipal,  privately  donated,  even  in  one  or  two 
instances  endowed.  In  fact,  the  latest  available  official  report  on  this  score 
shows  the  State  as  having  within  its  borders  more  than  half  of  the  larger 
havens  and  reservations  now  in  existence. 

There  are  eleven  Federal  reservations  of  importance  on  the  Florida 
coast,  Atlantic  and  Gulf,  namely,  Dry  Tortugas,  Pine  Island,  Key  West, 
Pelican  Island,  Mosquito  Inlet,  Island  Bay,  Passage  Key,  Matlacha  Pass, 
Palma  Sola,  Indian  Bird  Key,  and  Caloosahatchee.  Add  to  this  the  Audu- 
bon  Reservation  of  Orange  Lake. 

One  State  reservation  is  a  matter  of  pride,  Royal  Palm  Park,  in  the  south- 
ern peninsula,  tropically  wooded,  comprising  nearly  two  thousand  acres. 
This  is  under  the  wardship  of  the  federated  women  of  the  State,  is  carefully 
guarded  from  fires  or  any  hostile  invasion;  and,  from  careful  count,  it  has 
been  found  that  practically  every  species  of  the  four  hundred  birds  fre- 
quenting Florida  is  to  be  found  within  these  confines  at  one  season  or  an- 
other. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

I. — THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND    .  .  I 

II. — THE  FLORIDA  KEYS      '    ...  32 

III.— THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS  .  .  59 

IV.— CAPE  SABLE    .        .  !?  .        .  .  75 

V. — THE  SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND  96 

VI. — THE  EVERGLADES     .      ; ..        .  .118 

VII. — THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA  .  143 

VIII. — THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS  .  167 

IX. — THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS  .  190 

X. — IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST        .  .  210 

XI. — ALONG  THE  STREAM         .        *  .  233 

XII. — ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE  .  254 

XIII.— THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH     .        .  .276 

XIV. — THE  WONDERS  OF  AJAX  REEF  .  301 

XV.— THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA        .  .317 

XVI.— THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS  .  335 

XVII. — THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT     .  .  353 

XVIII. — THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST  .  373 

INDEX 395 


12  Massachusetts    A  u  d  u  b  o  n    Society 

EDWARD  W.  BOK'S  FLORIDA  BIRD  SANCTUARY. 

How  rapidly  the  bird  sanctuary  idea  goes  forward  with  men  of  great 
minds  and  large  means  may  be  inferred  from  tfye  following,  abridged  from 
a  report  in  the  "Florida  Times-Union,"  of  Jacksonville. 

Edward  W.  Bok,  of  Philadelphia  and  Mountain  Lake,  today  in  an 
address  before  the  chamber  of  commerce  and  the  Woman's  club  at  Babson 
Park  told  something  publicly  for  the  first  time  of  plans  for  the  great  Bok 
bird  reservation,  or  jungle,  as  he  prefers  to  call  it,  located  on  Tiger  creek 
near  Lake  Walk-in-the-water,  about  seven  miles  from  Lake  Wales. 

Mr.  Bok  resolved  to  emulate  the  example  of  an  ancestor  who  made  the 
island  of  Helder  in  the  Netherlands  to  blossom  and  provided  it  as  a  bird 
refuge  and  sanctuary. 

He  expects  to  restock  Florida  with  the  flamingo,  the  picturesque  bird 
that  gave  Florida  the  name  of  Flamingo  State  but  not  a  single  example  of 
which  can  now  be  found  in  the  State.  Arrangements  have  been  made  through 
the  government  with  the  consul-general  at  Havana  for  one  hundred  flamin- 
goes which  will  be  placed  in  the  jungle  and  very  carefully  protected.  As 
a  means  of  calling  attention  to  this  interesting  experiment  in  trying  to  bring 
back  what  is  practically  an  extinct  bird  in  Florida  he  will  call  the  place 
Flamingo  Jungle. 

He  proposes  to  call  the  little  town  that  will  grow  up  near  the  jungle 
Helder,  or  Texel,  in  memory  of  town  and  island  where  his  people  lived  in 
the  Netherlands. 

The  project  has  enlisted  Mr.  Bok's  deepest  interest  and  all  of  his  great 
energy  and  resources  will  be  thrown  behind  the  making  of  what  will  be 
Florida's  greatest  and  most  unique  park  when  completed.  Frederick  Law 
Olmsted,  the  famous  landscape  artist,  will  have  charge  of  the  work.  He 
will  be  instructed  to  make  Flamingo  Jungle  a  place  where  the  native  bird 
life  can  find  a  home  and  where  the  migratory  birds  can  perhaps  be  attracted 
to  break  their  journey  to  and  from  the  southern  hemisphere. 

There  are  about  two  thousand  two  hundred  acres  along  Tiger  creek  in 
the  jungle  proper,  and  he  will  have  a  strip  of  higher  land  completely  en- 
closing the  jungle  on  which  he  proposes  to  build  a  highway  around  the 
entire  tract  that  will  make  several  hundred  acres  more.  Just  how  much 
there  will  be  in  the  entire  tract  will  not  be  known  until  the  survey  is 
finished. 

Mr.  Bok  painted  a  word  picture  of  the  tract  that  was  most  attractive. 
There  are  still  deer,  bear  and  wild  turkey  to  be  found  here,  and  it  is  one  of 
the  most  picturesquely  tropical  growths  yet  to  be  found  in  the  state.  Mr. 
Bok's  plan  is  to  leave  it  in  a  state  of  nature  so  far  as  possible.  No  automo- 
bile paths  will  penetrate  the  jungle,  but  there  will  be  foot  paths  from  the 
surrounding  highway  every  five  hundred  feet  or  more.  Tiger  Creek  will  be 
cleared  so  that  it  will  be  passable  for  canoes,  and  pleasure  seekers  will  be 
privileged  to  canoe  along  the  same  waters  used  by  the  Seminole  in  years 
gone. 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

LOWER  FLORIDA  LIGUUS  (In  Color}    Frontispiece 

DIAGRAM  TO  ILLUSTRATE  FORMATION  OF  SAND 

ISLANDS  AND  PENINSULAS      'A  t'y-  »s>i«u     .  23 

RAGGED  CORAL  LIMESTONE    .         .         f"     .  24 

SMALL  OVERHANGING  CORAL  ISLET         ,;t.     .  24 

YOUNG  MANGROVES  GROWING  ON  NAKED  ROCK  28 

CEREUS  DEERINGI  (SMALL).    A  NEW  CEREUS  .  48 

GETTING  OUT  PLANTS  OF  CEREUS  DEERINGI     .  50 

THE  BARBEE  EXPLORING  BOAT   {   *<>       .         .  56 

YUCCA    ALOIFOLIA    (SPANISH   BAYONET)        .              .  58 

GIANT  MANGROVE  WALL  NEAR  CAPE  SABLE  .  60 

CHOKOLOSKEE  ISLAND,  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS  64 

HOME,  SWEET  HOME.    A  TYPICAL  PALMETTO 

THATCH  HOUSE       ..       ./ 66 

NATIVE  ROYAL  PALM  AT  ROGERS  RIVER         .  72 

HEAD  OF  CHOKOLOSKEE  RIVER  i  vjoi^Hl  s     .  74 

EAST    CAPE    SABLE,    THE    MOST    SOUTHERLY 

POINT  OF  THE  MAINLAND  IN  THE  U.  S.    .  76 

xi 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE; 
TURIN  AX    WENDLANDIANA,     ONE     OF     FLORIDA'S 

NEW  PALMS     .         ...         .  84 

CEREUS    PENTAGONUS,    A    MOST    VILLAINOUS 

CACTUS    .       V   '-  .""    V    ":^         .         .       86 

CEREUS  ERIOPHORUS,  EQUALLY  VILLAINOUS  .  88 
Two  DIAMOND  RATTLESNAKES  ...  90 
ONE  OF  FLORIDA'S  NEW  PALMS,  ACOELORRAPHE 

WR1GHT1I          •      .  ^    ^        ....          96 

CABBAGE    PALMETTOS,  NEAR    PUNTA    GORDA, 
FLORIDA  .        . '       .        .         .        .         -98 

GREAT  ORCHID,   CYRTOPODIUM  PUNCTATUM,  IN 
FULL  BLOOM  ,. .•;•;'  /,    .     .        .        .        .     no 

GETTING  OUT  NEW  PALM  AT  MADEIRA  BAY  .  112 
VIEW  IN  EDGE  OF  EVERGLADES  .  :  .  .120 
EVERGLADES  NEAR  PARADISE  KEY  .  .120 
PARADISE  KEY  WITH  NATIVE  ROYAL  PALMS  .  124 
PERMANENT  SEMINOLE  CAMP  .  .  .  138 

PART  OF  FAMILY  OF  TOMMY  JIMMY  AT  SEMINOLE 
CAMP       .        ..        .;        .         .        .        .     140 

HAMMOCK  SCENE  AT  "THE  SENTINELS"  .  150 
SWORD  OR  BOSTON  FERN  ON  PARADISE  KEY  .  152 

NEPHROLEPIS  BISERRATA,  A  BEAUTIFUL  SWORD 
FERN        .         .         .     ;',^<    <,  ,H?<  ;•  *n..     .     158 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

BEAUTIFUL    NATIVE    SHRUB,    TETRAZYGIA  BI- 
COLOR,  IN  FULL  BLOOM     .  ,;     ,,  V.;V.      •     160 

VIEW  IN  PINE  WOODS  .         .        ,? . ...  _.. .  .     .     168 

DIFFERENT    STAGES  OF    GROWTH  OF    DWARF 
PALMETTO         .         .         .•»,./      *  »/.     •     168 

UPROOTED  PINE  SHOWING  CONICAL  MASS  OF 
ROOTS      .         '^  „  »        A        i         «...      •     1 86 

UPROOTED  PINE  SHOWING  ROCK  TORN  UP  BY 
ITS  ROOTS        .     -   . .       .      _.         .         .     186 

VERY  YOUNG  HAMMOCK        „.     .^.     >t,.^       .     192 

YOUNG  HAMMOCK  AT  WATER  HOLE,  LONG  KEY, 
EVERGLADES     .         .        .        -»        .         .192 

VIEW  ON  PARADISE  KEY,  LOVELY  SETTING  OF 
ROYAL  PALM    .    ''•  .'i;*^'-.  '-< '•'  .f  '"' •'.-'••'•     .     204 

POLY  PODIUM      POLYPODIOIDES,        RESURRECTION 

FERN       .         .      *  V* '•'•'""•  ^  ' •••';"•     -  .      .     2o6 

Two  VIEWS  OF  DENSE  TROPICAL  FOREST  IN 
MIAMI  HAMMOCK     .     .  .i(. •-..•  .,,••/.-  ,  ,;       .    210 

DENSELY     CROWDED,    STRAIGHT     TREES    IN 

MIAMI  HAMMOCK     4        <*;;').        .    ,     .    214 

GIANT  GUMBO  LIMBO  (BURSERA  GUMMIFERA)  .  216 
DENSE  TANGLE  OF  TROPICAL  VINES  .  .  220 
MOUTH  OF  LITTLE  RIVER  i>v  ;  •„  .  234 


xiv  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

VIEW  HIGHER  UP  STREAM      .      •;  .<* .  »'^ .  ,\-     .  234 

CURIOUS  ROOT  GROWTH  OF  ANNONA      .         .  246 

BRACKISH  STREAM  REACH      .      XV    "'.'  '      .  246 

CUTLER  CREEK  AT  JUNCTION  OF  FRESH  AND 

BRACKISH  WATER     .         .         .       "'.-         .  248 

ROCKY  SINK  ON  CUTLER  CREEK    .         .         .250 

RIVER  CYPRESS  ENTANGLED  WITH  STRANGLING 

FIG.     CYPRESS  KNEES      .     " '.  ••   *'!  o     .  252 

GIANT  MANGROVES  NEAR  LITTLE  RIVER         .  254 

MAZE  OF  MANGROVE  GROWTH  AT  LEMON  CITY  256 

MANGROVES  ARCHING  OVER  STREAM    :  '.    '     .  258 

OUTSIDE  VIEW  OF  MANGROVE  SHORE     .         .  260 

SEA  BEACH  AT  CAPE  SABLE,  SHOWING  RICKS 

OF  SHELLS 278 

EGG  CASE  OF  FULGUR  PERVERSUS  .         .         .  284 

LOVELY  REEF  FISH  (ABUDEFDUF  SAXATILIS)    .  304 

CORAL  REEF  ON  SOUTHEAST  COAST  OF  FLORIDA  304 

HOGFISH  (LACHNOLAIMUS  MAXIMUS)  SHOWING 
CHANGES  OF  COLOR.  UNDERSEA  PHOTO- 
GRAPHS .  .  .  ,r..  .  ,,  .  312 

BOTTOM  OF  TROPICAL  SEA.     GORGONIA  ACEROSA. 

UNDERSEA  PHOTOGRAPH    .      -'#j  '••*  '-'{?•'     .  314 

Two  SKETCHES  SHOWING  OUTLINES  OF  DREDGE  318 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGB 

THE  EOLIS,  DREDGING  YACHT  BELONGING  TO 
JOHN  B.  HENDERSON  ....  320 

POLYGYRA  AURJCULATA,  THE  APERTURE  RE- 
MARKABLY CONTORTED  TO  PREVENT  THE 
ENTRANCE  OF  PREDATORY  BEETLES  .  .  336 

LlGUUS  PASC1ATUS,  TWO  VARIETIES.  SNAILS 
ATTACHED  TO  BARK  OF  TREE  DURING 
PERIOD  OF  ESTIVATION  .  .  .  .  352 

OXYSTYLA  FLORIDENSIS  ^STIVATING  IN  HOLLOW 
TREE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  356 

GREAT  BLUE  LAND  CRAB  (€ARDISOMA  GUANHVMI)     370 

ACTUAL  MOONLIGHT  SCENE  LOOKING  ACROSS 
BISCAYNE  BAY  .  .  .  .  .  376 

STRANGLING  FIG,  FIRST  STAGE  .  .  .  382 

STRANGLING  FIG,  SECOND  STAGE  .  «  .  384 

STRANGLING  FIG,  THIRD  STAGE  .  .  .  386 

STRANGLING  FIG,  LAST  STAGE  .  .  .  388 

FlCUS  BREV1FOLIA,  BECOMING  A  VERITABLE 
BANYAN 390 

MAPS 

SKETCH  MAP  TO  SHOW  EARLY  PLEISTOCENE 
SUBMERGENCE.  ....  . ...  At  End 

SKETCH  MAP  OF  LOWER  FLORIDA  .  At  End 


In    Lower   Florida  Wilds 


CHAPTER  I 

TKe  Building  of  the  Land 

THE  observant  visitor  in  Florida  will  find 
much  that  is  interesting  and  surprising; 
some  things  indeed  that  may  be  quite 
beyond    his    comprehension.      He    will 
notice  that  there  are  no  mountains  or  high  hills, 
that  the  general  region  is  flat  and  but  slightly 
elevated  above  sea  level.     He  will  observe  that 
the  drier  part  of  the  State  is  largely  composed  of 
sand  sometimes  blown  into  dunes ;  that  the  many 
sluggish  streams  have  hardly  any  valleys,  and  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  territory  is  covered  with  a 
monotonous  open  growth  of  long  leaved  pines, 
with  here  and   there   stretches  of  denser  forest 
composed  of  hardwood  trees  and  shrubs,  called 
"hammocks."      Occasionally   there  is   a   swamp 


IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 


which  may  consist  largely  of  gray  cypress  trees 
with  swollen,  conical  bases,  while  scattered  thickly 
over  the  swamp  floor  are  blunt  leafless  stubs  from 
one  to  six  feet  long,  thrust  up  out  of  the  mud — 
peculiar  growths  which  spring  from  the  roots  of 
these  trees. 

If  the  stranger  visits  the  lower  part  of  the  State 
he  will  find  in  the  interior  a  vast  extent  of  wet, 
often  inundated  prairie  with  wooded  islets 
scattered  along  its  borders.  At  the  north  of  this 
great  swamp,  the  Everglades,  is  Lake  Okeechobee, 
which  during  the  rainy  season  overflows  the  entire 
prairie.  A  low  rocky  ridge  lies  between  the  Ever- 
glades and  the  Atlantic  shore.  It  projects  west- 
ward far  into  the  swamp  in  southern  Dade  County, 
and  finally  disappears  in  the  great  prairie.  This 
ridge  is  cut  into  numerous  islands,  and  water  from 
the  Everglades  passes  through  the  channels  be- 
tween out  to  the  sea. 

To  the  southeast,  southward,  and  southwest  of 
the  mainland  is  a  long  chain  of  islands,  the  "Florida 
Keys, "  which  extends  in  a  great  curve  to  the  south 
and  west,  ending  far  out  in  the  sea  with  the  Tor- 
tugas.  The  upper  islands  of  this  chain  are  long 
and  narrow,  running  parallel  with  the  Gulf  Stream, 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          3 

and  are  of  coral  formation.  The  lower  islands  are 
of  oolitic  limestone  and  many  of  them  run  almost 
directly  across  the  axis  of  the  chain.  If  the  visitor 
is  a  botanist  he  will  find  that  the  flora  of  the  south- 
east mainland  differs  decidedly  from  that  of  the 
upper  islands,  although  but  a  few  miles  distant, 
and  also  that  many  plants  of  the  upper  chain  are 
not  found  on  the  lower  group. 

The  observer  will  also  notice  that  almost  every- 
where along  both  coasts  of  the  State  and  separated 
from  the  mainland  shore  by  narrow  sounds  there 
is  a  series  of  long  islands  or  peninsulas,  generally 
parallel  with  the  shore,  composed  of  sand  and  often 
covered  with  vegetation.  He  will  find  that  in  the 
lower  part  of  Florida  the  protected  shores  of  these 
islands  and  of  the  mainland  are  usually  bordered 
by  a  dense  growth  of  mangroves  standing  high 
on  stilted  roots  and  often  reaching  well  out  into 
the  water.  These  trees  help  in  a  wonderful  manner 
to  build  up  the  land. 

If  our  visitor  be  a  Nature  lover  he  will  ask  why 
is  this  great  area  so  low  and  flat ;  why  are  there  no 
stream  valleys;  why  should  the  State  be  pine 
covered  with  only  here  and  there  an  island-like 
hammock?  Why  so  sandy,  and  whence  came 


IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 


the  sand.  What  causes  the  curious  growth  of 
the  cypresses;  how  and  when  were  the  Ever- 
glades and  the  great  Okeechobee  formed;  how 
comes  the  rocky  ridge  along  the  eastern  coast? 
Why  do  the  keys  parallel  the  Gulf  Stream;  why 
are  the  upper  ones  long  and  narrow  and  what 
caused  them  to  trend  in  the  direction  of  the  chain 
while  most  of  the  lower  ones  range  across  it? 
What  is  the  cause  of  the  difference  in  the  floras 
which  are  separated  by  only  a  few  miles  of  swamps 
or  shallow  sea  ?  Why  do  the  mangroves  stand  high 
on  stilted  roots,  often  with  no  trunk  at  all  at  their 
bases?  These  and  many  other  questions  are  asked 
by  the  inquisitive  stranger,  indeed  by  those  who 
long  have  lived  here.  In  this  and  following  chapters 
I  shall  attempt  to  answer  most  of  these  queries  and 
to  explain  other  things  Floridian  not  easily  under- 
stood at  first.  In  some  cases  the  geologic  evidence 
seems  to  be  so  completely  obliterated  that  we  can 
only  guess  at  a  solution;  in  others  we  must  wait 
for  more  careful  and  complete  investigation  before 
we  can  reach  very  satisfactory  conclusions. 

At  some  fairly  remote  period  in  geological  time 
a  great  plateau  was  thrust  up  from  the  depths  of 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND  5 

the  sea  by  a  folding  of  the  earth's  crust  at  the  south- 
eastern corner  of  the  North  American  continent. 
This  plateau  has  an  average  width  of  about  three 
hundred  miles  and  is  of  very  nearly  the  same 
length.  Its  borders  everywhere  slope  rapidly 
down  into  the  abysses  of  the  ocean.  The  eastern 
half  of  this  plateau,  which  is  the  more  elevated 
portion  and  now  projects  above  the  sea,  is  the 
present  peninsula  of  Florida.  This  peninsula  is 
shaped  very  much  like  the  handle  of  an  old- 
fashioned  pistol.  The  northern  or  "continental" 
part  of  the  State  somewhat  resembles  the  short 
barrel  of  the  same,  which  is  pointed  directly  at  the 
States  lying  to  the  westward.  The  tract  of  land 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Apalachicola  River  might 
answer  for  a  trigger  case.  I  once  called  the  atten- 
tion of  an  old  Georgia  cracker  to  this  peculiar 
form,  and  after  looking  closely  at  the  map  for  a 
minute  while  he  slowly  traced  the  outline  with  his 
finger  he  remarked:  "Hit  shore  does  look  some 
like  a  pistol.  Y'all  don't  reckon  they  wanted  to 
fight,  do  ye,  when  they  laid  hit  out  thataway?" 

The  surface  or  topography  of  the  State  is, 
geologically  speaking,  quite  new,  there  being 
within  its  borders  no  rocks  observable  older  than 


IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 


the  Vicksburg  group  of  the  Upper  Eocene.  The 
presence  of  coal  or  carbonaceous  matter  has  re- 
cently been  reported  from  wells  at  a  depth  of 
about  a  thousand  feet  in  Marion  and  Pasco  coun- 
ties, and  this  would  indicate  that  at  the  time  the 
coal  was  formed  the  surface  of  that  part  of  the 
peninsula  (a  thousand  feet  below  the  present 
surface)  was  elevated  to  at  least  a  short  distance 
above  sea  level.  As  there  are  no  evidences  of  any 
violent  disturbances  throughout  the  entire  area 
we  may  presume  that  for  a  long  time  after  the 
deposition  of  this  carbonaceous  material  there  was 
a  gradual  subsidence,  and  that  the  land  was  slowly 
built  up  by  marine  deposits  at  about  the  same  rate 
at  which  the  whole  was  subsiding.  The  entire 
area  of  Florida  south  of  a  line  from  Tampa  to 
Daytona  is  very  recent,  as  it  belongs  to  the  latest 
of  the  geologic  periods — the  Quaternary. 

The  region  lying  south  of  a  line  drawn  from 
Cape  Romano  on  the  west  to  about  Fort  Lauder- 
dale  on  the  east  may  be  designated  as  Lower 
Florida  and  this  includes  practically  all  of  the 
State  which  has  any  claim  to  being  called  tropical. 
It  embraces  all  the  territory  occupied  in  Florida 
by  the  large  Cuban  and  West  Indian  arboreal 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND  ^ 

snails  with  their  beautiful  shells  and  probably  all 
the  region  in  which  a  majority  of  the  native  plants 
have  been  derived  from  the  Torrid  Zone.  It  is 
true  that  the  flora  of  the  seacoast  littoral  for  a 
considerable  distance  north  of  these  two  points 
has  been  derived  from  Middle  America,  but,  as  I 
show  elsewhere,  it  is  subject  to  occasional  destruc- 
tion by  frost.  A  few  very  narrow  strips  of  West 
Indian  trees  and  plants  found  immediately  along 
the  beaches  on  dry  land  for  some  distance  up  the 
peninsula  owe  their  existence  only  to  their  im- 
mediate proximity  to  the  sea. 

During  early  or  middle  Pleistocene  time  (geo- 
logically speaking,  only  yesterday)  a  considerable 
subsidence  took  place  throughout  the  peninsula 
of  Florida,  and  all  the  lower  part  of  the  State  (to 
north  of  the  Caloosahatchee  River)  was  sunk 
below  the  level  of  the  sea.  Most  of  the  rock  of 
the  southern  part  of  the  State  was  formed  under 
water  during  this  period  of  depression.  If,  by 
any  possibility,  any  of  it  had  been  above  the 
ocean  before  this  time,  the  flora  and  fauna  in- 
habiting it  were  either  drowned  or  driven  to  the 
northward.  The  story  of  the  building  of  the  land, 
so  far  as  we  need  to  trace  it,  may  begin  with 


8  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

this  Pleistocene  submergence — this  depression  of 
"yesterday." 

It  was  probably  at  this  time  that  the  great  coral 
reef  along  the  Floridian  border  of  the  Gulf  Stream 
was  started,  and  grew  until  it  finally  appeared  at 
the  surface  of  the  sea.  After  being  worked  over  by 
wave  and  storm  action  and  with  slight  further 
elevation  it  formed  and  then  became  the  present 
Upper  Keys.  This  reef  lay  on  a  bank  at  some 
distance  from  what  was  later  to  become  the  main- 
land and  was  nourished  by  the  warm,  food-laden 
waters  of  the  great  ocean  river  that  swept  along  it. 
When  it  had  been  built  up  to  near  its  present 
height  another  coral  reef  or  fringe  began  to  grow 
up  outside  it  and  this  is  the  present  outer  reef, 
which  we  shall  visit  in  a  later  chapter. 

During  this  same  period  of  subsidence  extensive 
beds  of  shallow  water  limestone  were  deposited 
over  much  of  what  was  later  to  become  our  present 
Lower  Florida.  One  of  these  limestone  beds,  an 
oolitic,  covered  the  area  which  has  since  become 
the  present  region  of  the  Lower  Keys,  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  this  same  formation  extends  to 
and  includes  all  the  present  southeast  coast  where 
the  rock  is  called  by  geologists  the  "Miami  lime- 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND  9 

stone."  This  "Miami  limestone"  is  usually 
believed  to  be  of  coral  formation  but  it  is  really  a 
shallow  water  oolitic  limestone  with  a  few  corals 
mixed  in  here  and  there.  On  the  southwest  coast 
the  "Lostman's  River  limestone"  was  probably 
laid  down  at  this  time  and  in  the  area  now  the 
interior  of  the  Everglades  a  similar  shallow  water 
limestone  was  deposited. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  Pleistocene  (geologi- 
cally speaking  at  this  morning's  dawn)  a  period 
of  elevation  took  place.  Then  for  the  first  time 
the  lower  part  of  the  State  assumed  essentially 
its  present  form,  covering  much  the  same  area  it 
does  to-day.  It  is  probable  that  during  the  time 
of  this  gradual  elevation  the  rocky  ridge  (already 
referred  to)  lying  between  the  Everglades  and 
the  Atlantic  was  built  up.  Beginning  at  Little 
River,  though  with  occasional  outcrops  for  some 
distance  northward,  and  extending  to  its  extreme 
southwest  end,  this  ridge  is  composed  of  a  soft 
oolitic  limestone  and  is  but  a  few  miles  wide, 
now  broken  into  a  series  of  "islands."  It  reaches 
well  down  into  the  Everglades,  then  turns  to  the 
westward,  then  to  the  southwest,  and  finally  ends 
within  five  miles  of  Whitewater  Bay.  The  water 


10  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

of  the  Everglades  drains  freely  through  this  porous 
rock,  sometimes  in  wide  prairie-like  channels  be- 
tween the  "islands"  and  sometimes  it  appears  as 
springs  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  ridge.  This 
rocky  ridge,  which  Dr.  John  K.  Small  has  appro- 
priately called  "The  Everglade  Keys,"  is  surely 
a  series  of  ancient  sea  beaches,  formed  one  after 
the  other  during  the  gradual  elevation  of  this 
area.  This  is  indicated  by  the  strata  being  greatly 
cross  bedded  throughout  a  considerable  part  of 
it.  In  places  between  these  old  beaches  the 
water  must  have  been  sheltered  and  quiet,  as  is 
indicated  by  many  fossil  bivalve  shells  found 
clinging  together  in  a  natural  state.  A  northern 
sandy  part  of  this  ancient  shore  line  overlaps  the 
rocky  ridge  and  was  deposited  at  a  later  time. 
This  ridge  was  the  great  highway  over  which 
plants  and  animals  from  the  American  tropics 
migrated  northward  and  those  from  the  north 
came  southward. 

In  all  probability  the  Everglades  (which  we 
shall  personally  inspect  in  another  chapter)  began 
to  develop  at  about  this  time.  The  upper  part  of 
the  chain  of  keys,  doubtless  in  process  of  formation 
before  the  time  of  this  uplift,  was  then  thrust  up, 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND  n 

and  many  of  the  corals,  because  of  exposure  to  the 
atmosphere,  were  killed.  The  sea  broke  up  the 
exposed  surface  of  the  reef,  worked  it  over,  and 
scattered  the  debris,  forming  thus  a  wide  foun- 
dation for  future  growth  of  coral. 

Samuel  Sanford  has  claimed  that  this,  or  some 
more  recent  or  subsequent  uplift,  carried  the  land 
to  perhaps  two  hundred  feet  above  its  present  level. 
Had  there  been  so  great  an  elevation  all  Lower 
Florida,  including  the  keys,  together  with  the  pres- 
ent bays  and  sounds  necessarily  would  have  been 
continuous  dry  land.  As  the  area  is  not  large,  its 
surface  flat,  its  structure  quite  uniform,  and  its 
climate  throughout,  especially  near  the  sea,  quite 
the  same,  it  seems  certain  that  had  so  great  an  uplift 
ever  taken  place  there  would  be  to-day  but  one 
common  assemblage  of  dry -land  animals  and  plants 
throughout,  or  in  the  warmer  part,  at  least,  of  the 
region.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  most  all  of  the 
species  would  have  been  distributed  over  the  entire 
territory.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  Actually 
we  find  three  more  or  less  circumscribed  areas  of 
dry -land  life  occupying  Lower  Florida.  First,  the 
Lower  Keys  are  inhabited  by  an  almost  strictly 
tropical  flora,  and  within  their  borders  there  are 


12  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

about  one  hundred  species  of  native  plants  which 
are  found  nowhere  else  in  the  United  States. 
Liguus  solidus,  a  large,  beautiful  arboreal  snail, 
exclusively  occupies  these  islands  and  has  formed 
several  well  marked  subspecies,  but  it  does  not 
occur  on  the  mainland.  One  particular  form 
which  may  have  originally  sprung  from  it  is  found 
on  Lignumvitae  and  on  Lower  Matecumbe  keys 
of  the  upper  chain,  but  it  probably  reached  these 
islands  by  drifting  from  the  lower  chain.  Another 
large  tree  snail  (Oxystyla  resus)  has  evidently  de- 
veloped on  the  Lower  Keys  and  is  only  found  else- 
where on  Key  Vaca,  an  island  of  the  upper  chain 
but  lying  close  to  the  lower  ones.  Hemitrochus 
varians,  a  finely  colored  Bahaman  snail,  is  abundant 
on  the  southeast  coast  and  Upper  Keys,  but  is  not 
found  on  the  lower  ones.  A  native  cotton  rat  and 
a  cotton  mouse,  which  I  shall  mention  elsewhere, 
occur  abundantly  on  the  upper  chain  of  islands 
but  never  on  the  lower.  So  far  as  we  know,  no 
mammals  are  indigenous  to  any  part  of  the  lower 
group. 

The  mainland  of  the  Miami  region,  including  the 
rocky  ridge  just  mentioned,  has  a  mixed  flora,  a 
majority  of  its  species  being  migrants  from  the 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND  13 

American  tropics.  These  are,  to  a  very  consid- 
erable extent,  identical  with  plants  found  on  the 
Lower  Keys.  A  little  over  a  third  of  its  flora  is 
temperate  and  warm  temperate,  having  migrated 
by  land  from  the  northward  since  the  beginning 
of  the  land  elevation.  Only  a  few  of  these  hardier 
northern  plants  occur  on  the  keys.  It  is  probable 
that  the  Lower  Keys  formed  a  single  island  during 
the  time  of  this  uplift,  at  which  time  the  Miami 
mainland  was  first  elevated  above  the  sea.  For 
a  long  time  seeds  and  animals  were  carried  north- 
ward by  the  Gulf  Stream  and  established  simul- 
taneously on  both  of  these  land  bodies  while  the 
present  Upper  Keys  were  only  a  living  coral  reef. 
In  all  probability  the  present  south  shore  of  the 
mainland  was  under  water  at  that  time  and  the 
same  is  doubtless  true  of  the  present  southwest 
coast.  Had  the  Upper  Keys  been  elevated  above 
the  sea  at  that  time  they  would  have  proven  a 
rather  effectual  barrier  to  the  landing  of  tropical 
life  along  the  old  Miami  shore. 

The  Upper  Keys,  the  extreme  southern  part  of 
the  mainland,  and  the  lower  southwest  coast  are 
inhabited  by  a  common  assemblage  of  plants,  and, 
to  a  considerable  extent,  of  animals,  which  differ 


I4  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

somewhat  from  those  of  the  Lower  Keys  and  the 
Miami  mainland.  There  was  an  old  landway, 
now  wholly  submerged  and  quite  dissolved  away, 
which  reached  across  from  Lower  Matecumbe 
Key  to  the  mainland  east  of  Flamingo.  Before 
the  Florida  East  Coast  Railway  dredged  a  chan- 
nel across  the  mud  flat  back  of  Matecumbe  it 
would  have  been  possible  by  following  the  tor- 
tuous shoals  actually  to  wade  from  it  to  the  main- 
land near  Joe  Kemp's  Key,  a  distance  of  fully 
thirty  miles,  in  water  nowhere  more  than  two 
feet  deep.  In  fact  there  is  now  an  extensive 
series  of  shoals  lying  along  the  inside  of  the  Upper 
Keys  from  Duck  Key  to  Largo  (a  distance  of 
twenty-five  miles)  which  stretches  all  the  way 
across  to  the  mainland  with  only  here  and  there 
an  enclosed  basin  of  six  or  seven  feet  depth.  For 
the  most  part,  these  shoals  are  continuous. 

East  of  these  shoals  at  the  head  of  Florida  Bay, 
an  uninterrupted  body  of  water  from  six  to  seven 
feet  deep  extends  across  from  Key  Largo  to  the 
mainland.  This  together  with  the  extensive 
swamp  to  the  northwest  of  it  has  acted  as  a 
barrier  to  the  passage  of  dry-land  plants  and  ani- 
mals from  the  Upper  Keys  and  also  from  the  ham- 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND  15 

mocks  along  the  south  shore  of  the  State  over  to 
the  rocky  ridge  east  and  south  of  the  Everglades. 

The  northern  end  of  the  upper  chain  of  keys  is 
not  more  than  eight  miles  distant  from  the  rocky 
ridge  on  the  Miami  mainland.  Key  Largo  has 
been  connected  with  the  mainland  until  recently 
but  the  connection  was  a  swamp  never  sufficiently 
dry  to  permit  the  passage  of  upland  forms  of  life. 
Notwithstanding  the  nearness  of  these  two  bodies 
of  land  and  the  fact  that  they  are  only  separated 
by  the  shallow  waters  of  Biscayne  Bay,  Card  and 
Barnes  sounds  I  feel  safe  in  asserting  that  there 
has  never  been  an  elevation  sufficient  to  unite  them 
as  dry  land  since  the  present  life  reached  their 
shores.  Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  has  there  been 
any  subsidence  great  enough  to  drown  out  our 
dry-land  flora  and  fauna  since  they  were  first  es- 
tablished. I  do  not  believe  that  since  the  first 
Pleistocene  elevation  there  has  been  twenty  feet  of 
change  in  elevation  in  all  Lower  Florida. 

At  least  sixty  species  of  tropical  plants  are  found 
on  the  Upper  Keys  which  do  not  occur  on  the 
Miami  mainland  and  a  large  temperate  and  warm 
temperate  flora  grows  on  the  latter  which  is 
entirely  absent  from  the  former  area.  There  are 


16  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

more  than  140  species  of  tropical  plants  common 
to  this  mainland  and  the  Lower  Keys  which  do  not 
occur  on  the  Upper  Keys  at  all!  I  can  conceive  of 
no  better  evidence  that  the  Miami  coast  and  the 
Lower  Keys  (which  are  likely  of  the  same  geo- 
logical formation),  though  they  were  perhaps  never 
actually  connected,  were  above  the  sea  and  were 
receiving  life  drifted  from  the  American  tropics 
a  long  time  before  the  Upper  Keys  had  become 
dry  land.  If  I  am  correct  the  Lower  Keys  should 
be  far  richer  in  tropical  life  than  the  upper  ones. 
This  is  in  fact  the  case  for  440  such  species  of  plants 
have  been  reported  from  the  former  area  as  against 
265  from  the  latter.  Yet  there  is  but  little  dif- 
ference in  the  extent  and  surface  features  of  the 
two  groups  of  islands.  It  is  doubtful  that  they 
have  ever  been  connected  by  dry  land.  The 
Moser  Channel  lying  west  of  Knight's  Key  (of 
the  upper  chain)  and  eastward  of  the  lower  chain 
carries  through  a  full  nine  feet  of  water  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Florida  Strait,  and  this 
channel  has  probably  separated  the  two  groups 
of  islands  or  keys  from  the  time  when  the  present 
tropical  flora  and  fauna  first  began  to  arrive. 
The  distribution  of  the  animals  of  Lower 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          17 

Florida  is  not  so  well  known  as  is  that  of  the 
plants,  but  it  is  certain  that  we  have  many  tropical 
species  of  the  former  within  our  borders.  I  have 
seen  a  large  collection  of  butterflies  made  near 
Havana  and  more  than  half  of  its  species  are  also 
Floridian.  I  do  not  know  that  any  naturalist  has 
identified  all  our  other  insects.  We  have  about 
forty  species  of  land  and  fresh-water  mollusks  in 
Florida  of  tropical  American  origin  and  of  these 
at  least  a  dozen  have  developed  into  distinct 
species  since  they  arrived  here.  It  is  probable 
that  when  our  flora  is  fully  investigated  quite  a 
thousand  species  of  tropical  plants  will  be  found 
in  Lower  Florida,  and  of  these,  a  considerable 
number,  perhaps  fifty,  will  prove  to  be  endemic, 
that  is  they  have  developed  into  new  forms  since 
landing  on  our  shores. 

It  has  required  a  long  time  for  the  attainment 
of  such  results,  for  the  process  of  establishing  a 
flora  and  fauna  by  drifting  and  migration  must 
necessarily  be  a  slow  one,  and  the  development  of 
species  takes  much  time.  Ages  have  been  re- 
quired for  all  this  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  twenty 
or  twenty-five  thousand  years  have  elapsed  since 
the  mid-Pleistocene  elevation  began. 


18  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Some  time  after  this  mid-Pleistocene  elevation 
there  came  a  second  subsidence,  but  only  of  a  few 
feet.  Along  the  low,  rocky  bluffs  in  and  just 
north  of  Cocoanut  Grove,  erosion  marks  made  by 
the  surf  are  plainly  visible.  The  same  evidences 
may  be  seen  in  the  great  hammock  south  of 
Miami,  its  eastern  rocky  wall  having  been  the  sea- 
shore at  the  time  of  this  slight  subsidence.  Now 
the  southern  end  of  this  wall  is  quite  a  distance 
back  from  the  bay  though  at  the  Punch  Bowl 
the  bluff  comes  out  to  the  shore.  The  same 
erosion  marks  may  be  seen  on  a  bit  of  rocky  bluff 
on  the  north  side  of  Little  River,  and  along  the 
walls  of  Arch  Creek.  There  are  old  beaches  on 
which  long  dead  (but  specifically  recent)  sea  shells 
are  scattered,  in  several  places  back  from  the 
western  shore  of  Biscayne  Bay  and  again  at  Boca 
Raton,  north  of  Fort  Lauderdale.  These  are  six 
or  seven  feet  above  tide  and  correspond  in  height 
with  the  surf  marks  on  the  bluffs  near  the  Punch 
Bowl.  A  similar  shell  beach  on  Big  Pine  Key 
of  the  lower  chain,  would  indicate  that  the  sub- 
sidence was  not  so  great  there,  as  it  lies  about 
three  feet  above  the  ocean.  These  old  beaches 
mark  the  limit  of  the  second  subsidence  and  during 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          19 

the  greatest  depression  the  sea  entered  the  eastern 
border  of  the  Everglades.  At  the  same  time  the 
reef  (which  later  became  the  Upper  Keys),  was 
still  further  built  up  and  developed. 

This  second  subsidence  was  followed  by  a 
second  period  of  elevation,  during  which  the 
corals  of  the  reef  slowly  died  and  the  sea  again 
destroyed  the  surface  of  the  reef,  piling  up  debris, 
scattering  the  looser  materials,  and  reshaping  it 
into  islands  of  coral  rock.  The  reef  was  finally 
elevated  sufficiently  for  the  seeds  of  dry-land 
plants  to  germinate  upon  it  and  establish  a  flora. 
Lower  Florida  mainland  was  doubtless  slightly 
higher  at  this  time  than  it  is  at  present,  sufficiently 
so  that  the  old  land  passage  elsewhere  mentioned 
from  the  mainland  to  the  Upper  Keys  existed. 

A  third  slight  subsidence  followed  and  is  prob- 
ably continuing  at  present.  Now  the  old  landway 
just  referred  to  is  submerged  and  its  remnants  are 
being  destroyed  by  the  solvents  of  the  sea.  While 
making  excavations  in  a  brackish  swamp  on  my 
place  I  found  stumps  and  trunks  of  live  oaks  and 
other  trees  below  the  present  level  of  high  tide, 
and  these  were  undoubtedly  in  the  localities  where 
they  grew.  Sanford  mentions  seeing  a  thick 


20  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

stump  in  gray  marl  on  the  southwest  coast  cov- 
ered by  water  at  high  tide.  He  believes,  as  I  do, 
that  there  is  evidence  at  Cape  Sable  of  a  slight 
recent  subsidence.  On  the  outer  shore  opposite 
Lemon  City  the  sea  at  one  time  since  I  have  lived 
here,  encroached  on  the  sandy  shore  and  un- 
covered peat  of  an  old  mangrove  swamp  which 
is  now  submerged  at  low  tide.  Along  the  south 
coast  of  the  mainland  the  sea  is  eating  into  the 
beach  to  such  an  extent  that  mangrove  and 
buttonwood  trees  are  found  for  some  distance  out 
into  the  bay.  Finally  the  great  area  of  mangrove 
swamp  which  covers  many  thousands  of  acres  in 
the  Ten  Thousand  Islands  and  along  the  south 
and  southeast  coasts  would  seem  further  to  indi- 
cate that  a  subsidence  is  taking  place.  This  need 
not  cause  owners  of  bay  front  property  in  Lower 
Florida  any  serious  alarm  since  it  is  probable  that 
the  mangroves  and  other  shore  vegetation  are 

building  up  the  land  as  rapidly  as  it  subsides. 

N. 

Beginning  at  the  southeastern  shore  of  Vir- 
ginia, thence  extending  into  Bade  County,  Florida, 
again  appearing  in  I^ee  County,  on  the  southwest 
coast  of  our  State  and  then  continuing  with 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          21 

occasional  interruptions  around  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  Yucatan,  is  a  series  of  long,  narrow, 
sandy  islands  and  peninsulas  lying  parallel  with 
the  mainland  shore  and  at  no  great  distance  from  it. 
They  are  usually  low;  rarely  rising  higher  than 
the  limits  of  a  storm  tide,  though  in  places  they 
assume  the  character  of  sand  dunes,  with  a  little 
greater  elevation.  Between  these  islands  and  the 
main  shore  there  are  usually  shallow  lagoons  some- 
times called  rivers,  though  their  water  is  salt  or 
brackish.  In  some  places  these  lagoons  fill  up  with 
sediment  with  little  or  no  water  remaining  and 
thus  form  brackish  swamps.  It  has  often  been 
asserted  that  these  sandy  coastal  islands  result 
from  ocean  currents  running  parallel  with  the  shore 
which  carry  and  deposit  sand  in  long,  narrow  bars, 
constantly  adding  to  these  bars  at  the  end  where 
the  retreating  water  leaves  them.  While  this  may 
be  true  in  some  cases  I  do  not  believe  that  the 
action  of  such  currents  alone  has  formed  most  of 
these  islands.  In  some  instances  these  narrow  land 
bodies  run  parallel  with  the  shores  of  bays  where  it 
seems  unlikely  that  any  ocean  currents  would  sweep 
along  the  deeply  incurved  beaches.  Besides  this, 
such  long-shore  currents  could  only  build  up  the  sand 


22  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

to  the  level  of  an  ordinary  high  tide,  while  these 
elongated  bars  are  generally  considerably  higher. 

It  seems  more  probable  that  these  peculiar  forma- 
tions are  caused  by  the  action  of  the  ordinary  tides 
aided  by  occasional  storms  which  sweep  in  upon 
the  shore.  Wherever  a  sandy  sea  bottom  slopes 
very  gradually  from  the  beach  the  waves  stir  up 
the  shifting  sand  for  a  long  way  off  shore  espe- 
cially when  strong  tides  are  coming  in  or  when 
high  winds  blow  towards  the  shore.  This  dis- 
turbance of  the  water, — the  ground  swell,  sweeps 
up  the  sediment  and  loose  sand  at  a  depth  of 
several  fathoms  and  often  from  a  distance  of  some 
miles  out.  After  severe  storms  during  which  the 
wind  has  blown  towards  the  land,  immense  num- 
bers of  fish  living  in  water  of  considerable  depth 
are  occasionally  cast  upon  the  beach,  their  gills 
choked  with  sand  and  mud.  The  water  has  been 
so  greatly  disturbed  they  have  perforce  breathed 
in  the  silt  which  they  could  not  eject  and  have 
literally  drowned. 

As  the  shore  is  neared  and  the  water  becomes 
more  shallow  its  landward  movement  is  accel- 
erated, so  that  in  some  places  and  under  certain 
conditions  it  rushes  in  with  considerable  speed. 


Ko 


Diagram   to   Illustrate   the   Formation   of   Sand   Islands    and 
Peninsulas 

a,  a,  a,  sea  level;    b,  b,  b,  sea  bottom;   c,  c,  c,  shore;   d,  d,  ridge  of  sand 
formed  off  shore  along  slack>ater  line,  e.    Arrows  show  direction  of  currents. 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          23 

In  Hawaii  the  natives  with  surf  boards  swim 
out  from  just  such  shores  and  upon  the  wave 
crests  are  swept  in  with  great  rapidity.  At  the 
beach  the  wave-formed  current  turns  back  sea- 
ward, retreating  underneath  into  deeper  water, 
rapidly  at  first  and  more  slowly  as  the  depth  in- 
creases. This  backward  movement  is  called  the 
undertow,  and  swimmers  are  sometimes  carried  by 
it  out  to  sea.  This  outgoing  undertow  rapidly 
slackens  because  of  its  friction  against  the  bottom 
and  also  against  the  incoming  water  above,  and  at  a 
certain  distance  from  the  shore,  by  reason  of  this 
friction  and  of  the  increasing  depth,  it  ceases  to 
advance  and  mingles  with  the  comparatively  slow 
moving,  incoming  tide.  All  this  water  contains 
silt  and  often  the  coarser  sand,  but  only  a  little 
of  it  is  deposited  between  the  beach  and  the  line 
of  slack  tide  well  off  shore  because  of  its  too  rapid 
motion  between  these  two  points.  Naturally  a 
considerable  quantity  of  sand  and  mud  must  be 
released  and  deposited  where  the  undertow  slack- 
ens and  ceases  to  flow. 

Thus  a  ridge  of  silt  begins  to  form  along  the  line 
of  these  mixed  currents  and  slack  water,  parallel 
to  the  shore  and  at  some  distance  from  it.  Once 


24  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

begun  the  ridge  acts  as  an  obstruction  to  the  in- 
coming and  outgoing  tides,  and  more  and  more 
material  is  deposited  on  and  against  it  from  both 
within  and  without.  Finally  the  ridge  builds  up 
to  the  level  of  high  tide  and  a  bay  or  so-called 
"river"  is  a  result.  More  sand  is  heaped  against 
the  outside  of  the  ridge  during  very  high  tides  or 
incoming  storms  until  eventually  it  becomes  a  long 
island  or  peninsula,  sometimes  ten  feet  or  more  in 
height.  The  wind  may  sweep  the  sand  into  dunes; 
seeds  and  the  flotsam  of  the  sea  are  cast  upon  it 
and  the  island  is  covered  with  a  mantle  of  vege- 
tation. Such  a  tidal  peninsula  has  been  formed 
between  New  River  Inlet  (near  Fort  Lauderdale) 
and  Cape  Florida,  and  the  upper  end  of  Biscayne 
Bay  is  the  resulting  "river"  that  lies  behind  it. 
Beginning  at  Snake  Creek  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
bay  and  extending  for  some  distance  to  the  north- 
ward the  space  back  of  the  tidal  land  has  be- 
come filled  with  vegetable  muck  until  it  is  now 
a  swamp.  There  are  generally  open  channels 
at  intervals  between  the  bays  or  "rivers"  and 
the  open  sea,  through  which  the  tides  rush 
swiftly. 

Where  the  sea  bottom  slopes  away  very  grad- 


Upper  View.     Ragged  Coral  Limestone,  Shore  of  Pumpkin  Key,  Upper  Keys 

Photo  by  Dr.  John  K.  Small 

Lower  View.     Small  Coral  Rock  Key  near  Marathon,  showing  Erosion  of  the 
Sea  and  Overhanging  Rock 

Photo  by  R.  M.  Harper 


26  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

in  sends  up  spouts  of  solid  water  and  spray.  By 
and  by  the  overhanging  shelf  becomes  weakened 
and  finally  breaks  off  by  its  own  weight  or  from  a 
particularly  vicious  blow  from  the  sea. 

,  I  know  of  no  word  or  combination  of  words 
which  would  properly  describe  the  sharpness,  the 
raggedness  and  jaggedness  of  some  of  these  rocky 
beaches  along  the  Upper  Keys.  Compared  with 
them  the  rocky  road  to  Dublin  is  a  smooth, 
macadam  turnpike.  Most  of  the  rock  of  these 
keys  is  very  porous  and  the  water  from  the  heav- 
iest of  rains  immediately  sinks  through  it  to  tide 
level,  dissolving  always  more  or  less  of  it  as  it 
passes  along.  Whenever  there  is  a  high  tide  on 
the  ocean  side  there  is  sure  to  be  a  correspondingly 
low  one  inside  or  in  the  bays.  Then  especially 
strong  currents  of  sea  water  sweep  through  and 
under  the  rock  from  the  flood  to  the  ebb  side 

v  taking  heavy  toll  of  rock  substance  as  they  pass. 
I  have  counted  as  many  as  twenty  streams  of  sea 
water  issuing  from  the  outer  side  of  old  Rhodes 
Key  in  a  distance  of  as  many  rods,  at  a  time  of  low 
tide  on  that  side  of  the  island  and  high  tide  on 
the  other.  Some  of  them  were  mere  trickles  but 
a  few  were  good-sized  currents. 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          27 

Eventually  a  weakened  roof  collapses  over 
one  of  these  water  passages  but  the  debris  is  soon 
dissolved  and  washed  out  and  in  time  an  open 
passage  from  ocean  to  bay  is  formed.  There 
will  be  deep  holes  and  shallows  in  these  passages, 
and  along  their  banks  mangroves  may  find  lodg- 
ment, sometimes  even  on  the  bare  rock.  The 
tides  rush  through  the  newly  made  passage  con- 
stantly eating  away  its  banks  until  the  two  sides 
are  widely  separated.  Many  if  not  all  the  keys 
have  been  more  or  less  divided  in  this  manner  and 
are  still  being  worn  away.  The  Ragged  Keys, 
a  set  of  rocky  islets  at  the  northern  end  of  the 
chain  (and  most  appropriately  named) ,  are  striking 
examples  of  this  scouring  and  dissolving  power 
of  the  sea.  According  to  A.  J.  Sands  and  Otto 
Matthaus,  both  long  residents  of  the  region, 
Ragged  Key  Rock  was,  but  a  few  years  ago,  about 
fifty  feet  across  and  supported  trees  and  shrubs. 
The  sea  completely  undermined  it  and  then  a 
severe  storm  completed  the  wreck.  Now  there 
remains  but  a  small  rock  visible  at  low  tide.  It 
is  not  unlikely  that  within  a  few  centuries  past 
this  now  submerged  rock  was  a  part  of  a  long  island 
lying  to  the  south  of  it.  The  present  gradual  sub- 


28  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

siding  of  this  region  certainly  aids  the  sea  very 
materially  in  the  destruction  of  the  land.  There 
is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the  bays  along  the  south 
and  southeast  mainland  coasts  are  slowly  deepen- 
ing and  encroaching  upon  the  land. 

The  sea  water  cannot  dissolve  all  the  limestone 
which  it  destroys  but  it  leaves  a  small  residue. 
This  residue  serves  to  augment  the  mud  flats  of 
the  bays  and  tidal  channels.  This  is  well  seen 
at  the  mouth  of  Caesar's  Creek  and  in  the  several 
passages  between  Largo  and  Elliott's  keys.  In  his 
Observations  upon  the  Floridas,  published  in  1823, 
Charles  Vignoles  stated  that  Key  Largo  was  a 
peninsula,  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a 
portage  of  six  boat-lengths,  though  now  a  navi- 
gable channel  separates  the  two.  A  cotton  rat 
(Sigmodon  hispidus)  and  a  cotton  mouse  (Pero- 
myscus  gossipium)  both  dry -land  and  swamp -fre- 
quenting animals,  but  not  swimmers,  are  found 
on  Key  Largo,  which  would  indicate  that  there 
was  formerly  a  land  connection  between  the 
mainland  and  the  island.  It  is  quite  probable 
that  the  water  passage  separating  the  two  bodies  of 
land  may  be  due  to  both  solution  and  subsidence. 
The  former  connecting  neck  of  land  did  not,  how- 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          29 

ever,  permit  the  migration  across  it  of  the  highland 
vegetation  as  the  mainland  just  .back  of  it  was  a 
great  swamp. 

The  dissolving  of  the  soft  limestone  rock  is 
nowhere  more  evident  than  in  the  pine  woods 
bordering  the  Everglades.  Before  the  recent 
drainage  of  this  region  the  glade  lands  were  cov- 
ered with  fresh  water  throughout  the  rainy  sea- 
son, and  sometimes  during  the  entire  year.  Rain 
water  absorbs  a  considerable  amount  of  carbonic 
acid  or  carbon  dioxide  as  it  falls  through  the 
atmosphere,  and  much  more  is  added  to  it  by 
decomposing  vegetation.  This  Everglade  fresh 
water  often  extends  well  out  over  the  low  pine 
woods  and  has  carved  the  rocky  forest  floor  un- 
til it  is  quite  as  rough  and  ragged  as  is  that  of 
the  keys.  Hence  the  irregular  sinks  and  many 
potholes,  and  the  uneven  surface  of  villainous 
knife-like  edges  which  render  walking  over  it 
a  really  hazardous  undertaking.  In  places  the 
honey-combed  rock  becomes  so  undermined  and 
rotten  that  it  breaks  under  the  tread,  but  woe 
unto  him  who  falls  upon  it ! 

So  level  is  the  general  face  of  the  country  that 
surface  water  sometimes  seems  undecided  which 


30  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

way  to  flow.  It  must  then  go  downward  through 
the  porous  rock,  eventually  reaching  the  sea  by 
underground  channels.  Into  these  the  tide  often 
flows  back  for  long  distances. 

Wherever  along  the  coast  there  is  a  slight  ele- 
vation it  is  dignified  (in  a  double  sense)  by  being 
called  a  "bluff";  every  gentle  swell  of  the  surface 
is  at  least  some  kind  of ' '  heights ' ' ;  some  even  apply 
the  name  "mount"  to  their  estates.  Verily  all 
things  are  relative! 

The  widespread  mantle  of  sand  which  covers 

(most  of  the  drier  part  of  the  State  is  composed  of 
grains  of  quartz.  On  the  coasts  it  is  mixed  with 
finely  broken  marine  shells.  The  problem  of 
the  origin  of  this  siliceous  sand  is  an  interesting 
one.  Just  how  it  came  to  be  dispersed  over  the 
whole  region  is  also  of  interest.  Doubtless  it  is  of 
northern  origin  and  some  of  it  was  washed  down 
by  the  rivers  of  the  Appalachian  mountains.  The 
cold  return  current  which  sweeps  southward  along 
the  Atlantic  coast  constantly  brings  cargoes  of 
it;  the  sea  throws  it  up  on  the  land  and  the  winds 
disperse  it.  Some  of  it  is  a  residue  from  limestone 
rocks  formerly  covering  parts  of  the  State  but  now 
destroyed  by  action  of  the  air  and  water.  The 


THE  BUILDING  OF  THE  LAND          31 

blanket  of  sand  reaches  as  far  south  as  Miami  and 
Cape  Florida  on  the  southeast  coast,  and  to  Cape 
Sable  on  the  southwest.  But  the  manner  in  which 
it  has  been  so  generally  distributed  over  Florida  in 
almost  level  beds,  is  probably  not  well  understood. 
At  these  two  points  the  siliceous  sands  rather 
abruptly  cease  and  to  the  south  the  sand  of  the 
beaches  is  composed  entirely  of  broken  bits  of 
coral,  shells,  and  other  marine  growths, — with 
little  or  no  trace  of  quartz  or  of  the  older  rocks. 

There  have  been  no  violent  convulsions,  no 
sudden  or  great  disturbances  during  the  geological 
history  of  Florida  since  the  original  uplift  of  the 
Florida  bank,  yet  a  ceaseless  construction  and 
destruction  of  land  have  been  going  on  within  its 
limits.  The  new  land  formed  yesterday  of  silt 
washed  down  by  streams,  by  elevation  or  by  the 
deposition  of  vegetable  matter,  is  being  dissolved 
to-day  by  carbon  dioxide,  worn  away  by  stream 
or  surf  action  or  carried  below  by  subsidence. 


CHAPTER  II 

XKe  Florida  Keys 

LET  us  in  fancy  take  a  very  large  pair  of 
dividers,  setting  one  point  at  Cape  Romano 
on  the  southwest  coast  of  Florida,  and  the 
other  at  Miami  and  then  sweep  the  latter 
point  first  south,  then  southwest,  and  finally  west 
until  it  reaches  a  spot  west  of  south  of  the  central 
point.    We  have  thereby  fairly  accurately  marked 
the  curved  axis  of  a  group  of  islands  called  the 
"Florida  Keys."     From  Miami  another  but  irreg- 
ular curve  to  the  south  and  west  nearly  coincides 
with  the  southeast  and  southern  coasts  of  the  main- 
land.   These  two  curved  lines  begin  together  on 
the  east  coast  but  diverge  as  they  make  to  the 
south  and  west  so  that  when  Key  Vaca  on  the  first 
line  is  reached,  Cape  Sable,  which  lies  due  north  of 
it  on  the  second  line,  is  twenty-eight  miles  distant. 
The  horn-shaped  area  of  shallow  water  between 
which  separates  the  keys  and  the  mainland  is  the 
32 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  33 

Bay  of  Florida,  Blackwater  Bay,  Barnes  and  Card 
Sounds. 

The  axis  of  the  great  island  chain  corresponds 
closely  with  the  curve  of  the  southern  edge  of 
the  "plateau,"  the  foundation  of  the  Peninsula  of 
Florida.  It  also  marks  the  northern  border  of 
the  Gulf  Stream.  The  true  keys  begin  at  the 
north  with  Soldier  Key,  a  little  islet  about  eleven 
miles  to  the  southward  of  Miami,  though  the  reef 
rock  reaches  just  a  bit  north  of  this  island.  They 
extend  to  the  Tortugas,  the  westernmost  island  of 
the  chain  and  distant  from  the  first  (on  the  axis), 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles.  The  islands 
vary  in  size  from  the  tiniest  bit  of  rock,  sand,  or 
mud,  often  crowned  with  a  green  boquet  of  man- 
groves, to  Key  Largo,  almost  thirty  miles  long. 
The  crowning  elevation  is  in  the  "knolls"  at 
Windley's  Island.  Their  dizzy  height  of  eighteen 
feet  in  so  flat  a  region  gives  them  by  contrast  a 
real  dignity. 

Between  the  chain  of  keys  and  an  outer  reef 
paralleling  it  lies  the  Hawk  Channel,  a  long, 
narrow  body  of  shallow  water  with  a  maximum 
depth  of  six  fathoms,  and  a  width  of  from  three  to 
six  miles.  This  channel  extends  from  near  Cape 


34  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Florida  to  the  Marquesas  Islands.  The  reef  is 
largely  formed  of  living  coral,  and  is,  no  doubt, 
an  incipient  chain  of  keys.  With  a  slight  uplift 
a  soil  would  soon  be  formed  on  the  exposed  reef, 
seeds  would  be  washed  upon  it,  a  forest  would  grow 
and  a  second  chain  of  keys,  much  like  the  present 
one  would  be  the  result. 

Many  years  ago  Louis  Agassiz,  the  distinguished 
naturalist,  studied  the  Florida  Keys.  He  main- 
tained that  they,  together  with  the  entire  southern 
part  of  Florida,  were  made  up  of  coral  reefs.  He 
stated  that  the  "shore  bluffs"  along  the  south 
part  of  the  mainland  were  simply  an  ancient  coral 
reef;  that  after  crossing  a  flat  expanse  of  land 
called  "The  Indian  Hunting  Ground"  a  series  of 
elevations  was  reached  which  bore  the  name  of 
"The  Hummocks";  that  seven  such  reefs  and 
interspaces  had  been  traced  between  the  "shore 
bluffs"  and  Lake  Okeechobee.  He  further  be- 
lieved that  the  entire  peninsula  was  of  coral  for- 
mation and  made  an  estimate  of  its  age  based  on 
the  normal  growth  rate  of  living  corals. 

There  is  no  real  foundation  for  these  statements 
or  theories,  and  if  Agassiz  had  actually  explored 
the  mainland  he  certainly  would  have  fallen  into 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  35 

no  such  error.  There  are  no  bluffs  anywhere 
along  the  shore.  I  have  been  inland  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  Cape  Romano,  Chokolos- 
kee,  Rodgers  River,  and  other  places  along  the 
southwest  coast;  and  I  am  very  familiar  with  Cape 
Sable  and  the  country  back  of  it;  with  Coot, 
Madeira,  and  other  neighboring  bays,  and  I  have 
explored  Cuthbert  Lake  along  the  south  coast  and 
there  is  no  evidence  of  coral  growth  at  any  of  these 
places.  The  Florida  East  Coast  Railway  enters 
the  mainland  on  the  southeast  coast  and  runs 
through  an  unbroken  swamp  to  Florida  City,  fif- 
teen miles  from  the  shore.  The  Flamingo  region 
is  alluvium  and  that  to  the  east  of  it  is  marl,  Cape 
Sable  is  a  sand  bank  based  on  an  old  mangrove 
swamp.  The  Ten  Thousand  Islands  are  swamp 
with  a  few  artificial  mounds.  Nowhere  is  there 
coral. 

Because  of  its  eminent  originator  this  theory  of 
the  development  of  Lower  Florida  has  been  very 
generally  accepted.  The  only  possible  foundation 
it  could  rest  upon  is  the  fact  that  a  part  of  the 
keys  and  all  the  outer  reef  are  built  of  coral. 

A  glance  at  the  charts  of  the  Florida  Keys 
shows  that  the  islands  of  the  upper  part  of  the  chain 


36  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

are  long  and  narrow  and  that  their  axis  is  parallel 
with  the  edge  of  the  Gulf  Stream  while  the  islands 
of  the  lower  group  are  very  different  both  in  shape 
and  arrangement.  The  eastern  islands  of  the 
lower  group  are  somewhat  elongated  but  they  lie 
across  the  axis  of  the  chain.  Those  on  the  west 
are  very  irregular  in  form,  constituting  a  small  but 
amazingly  complicated  archipelago,  in  which  there 
seems  to  be  no  systematic  alignment  whatever. 
A  careful  inspection  of  the  charts  will  also  show 
that  the  upper  chain  of  islands  apparently  blends 
with  the  lower  group  leaving  as  doubtful  in  their 
true  relationship  Bahia  Honda,  the  West  Summer- 
land  Keys,  a  narrow  strip  of  land  belonging  to 
the  southern  end  of  Big  Pine  Key,  and  the  New- 
found Harbor  Keys.  With  the  latter  keys, 
however,  the  upper  chain  seems  positively  to 
end. 

The  upper  islands  are  an  old  coral  reef  formerly 
built  along  the  edge  of  the  great  peninsular  pla- 
teau. It  was  subsequently  raised  slightly,  so 
naturally  the  chain  consists  of  long,  narrow  islands 
running  parallel  with  the  Gulf  Stream.  I  feel  sure 
that  the  lower  group  of  keys  is  a  remnant  of  what 
was  once  a  single  large  island  which  lay  along  the 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  37 

northern  part  of  this  great  ocean  river  and  which 
had  been  raised  above  the  sea  by  the  first  Pleisto- 
cene elevation.  It  extended  from  East  and  West 
Bahia  Honda  Keys  (on  the  east)  to  Key  West  or 
possibly  even  further  west,  and  from  the  Content, 
Sawyer,  Johnson's,  Mud,  West  Harbor,  and 
Northwest  Boca  Chica  Keys  (on  the  north)  to  the 
inner  edge  of  the  Hawk  Channel  (on  the  south). 
While  this  large  island  was  entire,  and  perhaps 
even  since  that  time,  various  animals  and  the  seeds 
of  tropical  plants  were  brought  to  it,  largely  by  the 
Gulf  Stream;  these  became  colonized  and  finally 
generally  distributed  over  it.  At  the  time  of  the 
second  depression  (during  later  Pleistocene)  the 
island  subsided  slightly,  but  not  sufficiently 
to  drown  out  completely  its  dry-land  life.  Its 
eastern  end  was  lowered  until  the  waters  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  occasionally  swept  over  the  lower 
portions  during  severe  northers.  I  found  sea 
shells  of  existing  species  scattered  abundantly 
along  the  southwest  shore  of  Big  Pine  Key  at  a 
height  of  about  three  feet  above  tide,  and  these 
probably  marked  the  extent  of  the  greatest  de- 
pression. The  water  which  was  driven  across 
the  low  land  scoured  out  a  series  of  parallel  chan- 


38  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

nels  having  a  north-northwest,  south-southeast 
direction  and  it  is  also  likely  that  it  formed  pas- 
sages under  the  rock  which  later  became  open  tidal 
streams.  Johnson,  Little  Pine,  No  Name,  Big 
Pine,  Torch,  and  Summerland  Keys  are  long, 
narrow  islands  lying  between  these  channels  and 
conforming  with  them  in  general  direction  as  do 
several  bars  which  lie  just  east  of  these  keys.  The 
tidal  periods  differ  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  in 
Florida  Strait,  hence  there  is  a  rush  of  water  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  which,  even  under  normal 
conditions  operates  always  to  dissolve  the  rock 
and  scour  out  the  debris. 

The  westernmost  of  the  larger  north  and  south 
channels  is  between  Sugar  Loaf  and  Cudjoe  Key 
and  to  the  westward  of  this  there  is  a  different 
arrangement  of  land  and  water*  Apparently  this 
western  area  did  not  subside  sufficiently  to  permit 
the  water  of  the  Gulf  to  drive  across  it  so  freely, 
hence,  there  are  but  a  few  small  channels  cut 
through.  One  channel  seems  to  be  now  forming 
east  of  Big  Coppitt  and  also  another  one  west  of 
Boca  Chica.  There  are  two  or  three  other  rela- 
tively small  openings. 

Several  years  ago  in  company  with  Dr.  Pilsbry 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  39 

of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Phila- 
delphia I  was  storm  bound  during  a  very  severe 
norther  at  the  mouth  of  Pelot's  Creek,  a  narrow 
passage  east  of  Boca  Chica.  For  three  days  the 
sea  water,  filled  with  silt  to  a  coffee  color,  and 
bearing  floating  timber  and  all  manner  of  rubbish, 
was  driven  through  this  little  channel  at  the  rate 
of  ten  miles  an  hour.  Although  it  was  early  in 
April  the  strong  wind  was  bitterly  cold  and  we 
were  obliged  to  get  our  launch  into  that  creek 
where  we  would  find  the  only  shelter.  It  took 
three  of  us  with  the  tow  rope  and  the  full  power 
of  the  engine  to  get  the  boat  in,  and  once  or 
twice  it  very  nearly  broke  away.  The  third  day 
of  our  enforced  stay  Dr.  Pilsbry  became  anxious 
to  get  to  Key  West  en  route  home,  and  against 
the  boatman's  protests  we  made  the  attempt 
to  leave.  With  a  line  from  the  stern  to  a  man- 
grove we  cast  off  forward  and  once  fairly  in  the 
stream  and  with  the  engine  full  ahead  we  shot 
down  the  channel  at  railway  speed.  The  wind 
had  driven  the  sea  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away  from 
the  beach  but  through  the  channel  across  the 
beach  we  were  swept  at  a  terrific  rate.  The  bow 
struck  a  bar  and  we  whirled  around  like  a  top. 


40  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Before  reaching  the  sea,  we  struck  something 
side-on  in  a  broadside  rush  that  threw  some  of  us 
overboard.  There  we  remained  miserably  ex- 
posed to  the  fury  of  the  wind  for  six  or  seven  hours 
when  the  norther  ceased,  and  the  returning  sea 
floated  us.  This  will  give  some  idea  of  the  force 
with  which  the  water  is  driven  across  the  keys 
and  its  power  to  cut  channels. 

The  greater  part  of  the  dry  land  (especially 
toward  the  western  end  of  the  archipelago)  is 
found  in  its  southern  part.  It  may  be  this  once 
formed  a  low,  continuous  ridge  which  acted  as  a 
dam  to  prevent  the  water  of  the  Gulf  from  break- 
ing across  into  the  strait.  The  sea  water,  however, 
entered  by  seepage  into  the  low,  rocky  land  of  the 
western  part  of  the  archipelago  and  by  under- 
mining has  broken  it  down  into  a  confusing 
irregularity  of  outline.  There  are  places  in  some 
of  the  lagoons  where  the  water  is  six  or  seven  feet 
deep  showing  undoubtedly  that  the  rock  has  been 
removed  by  solution. 

Probably  all  of  Ramrod  and  several  other  small 
keys  have  subsided  slightly  but  enough  to  convert 
them  into  mangrove  swamps.  The  dry-land  vege- 
tation upon  them  has  been  destroyed,  and  almost 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  41 

no  traces  of  any  of  the  large  arboreal  snails  are  to 
be  found. 

Geologists  believe  that  the  islands  west  of  Key 
West  are  of  very  recent  origin,  at  least  so  far  as 
their  elevation  above  the  sea  is  concerned.  While 
those  which  lie  between  Key  West  and  Boca 
Grande  are  of  oolitic  formation  the  Marquesas 
and  Tortugas  are  composed  of  finely  broken  re- 
mains of  various  marine  animals.  At  Tortugas 
extensive  coral  reefs  have  developed  in  the  shal- 
lows along  the  edges  of  the  land,  the  finest  growth 
of  this  kind,  perhaps,  in  the  United  States.  The 
Marquesas,  which  consist  of  one  large  and  several 
small  islets,  have  an  outline  resembling  a  round- 
headed  kite.  The  group  is  really  an  atoll,  the 
outer  keys  forming  a  rim  which  encloses  a  shallow 
lagoon.  It  is  not,  however,  a  true  coral  atoll  like 
those  of  the  Pacific.  The  rock  bed  forming  the 
foundation  of  the  Marquesas  was  probably  built 
up  or  elevated  to  very  near  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Wave  action  afterwards  heaped  up  sand  around 
the  border  and  this  now  forms  the  dry  land  of  the 
atoll.  This  sand  covering  has  prevented  or  re- 
tarded dissolution  of  the  foundation  rock,  but  in 
the  interior  the  less  protected  rock  has  been  dis- 


42  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

solved  until  a  lagoon  was  formed.  The  Tortugas 
are  believed  to  be  an  imperfect  atoll,  developed 
in  much  the  same  way  as  the  Marquesas ;  so  also 
is  a  minute  island,  "Key  C,"  lying  to  the  west- 
ward of  Key  West.  Boca  Grande  is  also  a  pseudo 
atoll  of  the  Marquesas  type. 

In  1916  I  visited  the  Marquesas  for  the  purpose 
of  finding  a  rare  palm  which  had  been  discovered 
there  several  years  before.  As  we  drew  near  we 
sighted  it  among  the  thick  scrub  on  the  east  side 
of  the  main  island,  and  it  proved  at  once  to 
be  a  very  distinct  and  handsome  species.  This  is 
Thrinax  keyensis  of  Professor  Sargent  only  known 
from  this  group  of  islands  and  possibly  from 
another  small  key  of  the  lower  chain.  It  has  a 
stout,  ashy  gray  stem,  sometimes  twenty-five  feet 
high,  raised  on  a  conical  base  of  matted  roots. 
The  shining  rich  green  fan-shaped  leaves  have  a 
brilliant  silver  color  beneath,  and  are  scattered 
for  some  distance  along  the  trunk.  It  is  really 
one  of  our  most  beautiful  palms  and  quite  distinct 
from  any  other  in  the  State.  Although  unreported 
from  any  locality  outside  of  this  restricted  area  it 
is  probable  that  it  may  yet  be  discovered  in  the 
Bahamas  or  West  Indies.  The  islands  on  which 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  43 

it  has  been  found  are  so  recent  that  it  seems 
improbable  a  new  species  of  palm  could  develop 
on  them.  With  this  we  found  also  another, 
Thrinax  wendlandiana,  a  native  of  Cuba  but  quite 
generally  distributed  over  the  Florida  Keys  and 
the  south  shore  of  the  mainland. 

Aside  from  the  common  littoral  vegetation,  the 
mangrove,  Avicennia,  Laguncularia,  and  button- 
wood  (which  fringe  all  the  keys)  the  only  trees 
seen  were  the  very  common  poison  tree  (Metopium 
metopium),  Pithecolobium  guadelupensis  (also 
abundant  in  Lower  Florida),  and  two  stoppers, — 
Eugenia  buxifolia  and  E.  rhombea,  the  latter  being 
confined  in  the  United  States  to  the  Lower  Keys. 
A  few  grasses  and  herbaceous  plants  were  found 
and  an  intensive  search  brought  to  light  but  a 
single  minute  land  snail,  one  of  the  Pupillidae. 
The  impression  gained  was  that  since  the  islet 
group  formed  there  had  been  insufficient  time  for 
any  considerable  flora  or  fauna  to  develop. 

But  there  are  still  younger  keys  in  this  region. 
Sand  Key,  about  six  miles  southwest  of  Key  West 
is  one  of  these — a  mere  rick  of  broken  corals,  shells, 
and  sand,  heaped  up  by  the  sea.  It  is  an  island 
of  to-day.  Not  over  an  acre  in  extent  it  is  used 


44  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

as  the  site  of  a  light  house  and  weather  station. 
On  it  are  a  few  herbaceous  plants — the  first  forms 
which  nature  establishes  on  newly  made  tropic 
land.  These  are  a  Tournfortia,  a  cousin  of  the 
cultivated  heliotrope,  a  hoary  leaved  half  shrub 
with  white  blossoms;  Sesuvium  portulacastrum,  a 
creeper  on  the  sands  with  thick  leaves  such  as 
many  of  the  shore  plants  have,  and  with  it  the 
widespread  goat's  foot  (Ipomcea  pes-caprcz).  The 
latter  has  round,  glossy  leaves  with  a  cleft  at  the 
apex,  and  large,  handsome,  purple  flowers.  With 
these  are  a  few  other  salt  loving  plants. 

On  this  tiny  islet  were  immense  numbers  of  the 
least  tern  (Sterna  antillarum),  which,  at  the  time 
of  my  last  visit,  were  nesting,  if  simply  laying  eggs 
on  the  open  sand  could  be  so  called.  All  of  the 
sandy  portion  of  the  key  was  used  for  this  purpose, 
and  the  only  preparation  for  nesting  consisted  in 
moving  the  fragments  of  coral  sufficiently  to  offer 
a  smooth  place  on  which  to  sit.  I  saw  no  birds 
actually  sitting  on  eggs ;  probably  they  do  this  only 
at  night  leaving  the  hot  sun  to  do  the  work  of 
hatching.  They  flew  around  us  angry  and  scream- 
ing when  approached, — a  wholly  unnecessary 
demonstration  since  they  are  protected  by  law 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  45 

from  any  interference  during  their  nesting  season. 
This  graceful  little  bird  was  formerly  abundant 
along  the  Atlantic  coast  but  is  now  becoming 
quite  scarce.  We  were  told  that  this  is  their  only 
breeding  place  on  the  Lower  Keys. 

If,  geologically  speaking,  Sand  Key  is  an  island 
born  to-day  there  are  others  in  the  chain  which 
are  only  just  hatching.  Western,  Middle,  and 
Eastern  Sambo,  lying  east  and  south  of  Key. West 
are  such.  So  indeed  is  Looe  Key,  to  the  south  of 
Ramrod  Key,  and  also  belonging  to  the  outer  reef. 
As  yet  these  possess  no  vegetation  whatever  and 
the  sea  still  breaks  over  them  in  heavy  storms. 
At  some  distance  out  in  the  Hawk  Channel  in  the 
vicinity  of  Key  West  is  an  incipient  third  reef 
lying  within  the  outer  one,  and  belonging  to  this 
are  the  Middle  Ground,  Washerwoman,  Missis- 
sippi, and  other  shoals  which  are  doubtless  under- 
going  the  process  of  being  formed  into  keys. 

This,  then,  is  nature's  workshop  for  the  making 
of  islands,  in  which  can  be  traced  every  process 
from  the  first  coral  polyp  that  attaches  itself 
to  the  bottom  and  starts  an  incipient  reef  to  the 
completed  island  raised  well  above  the  highest 
normal  tide ;  or,  from  a  tiny  bar  of  mud  or  sand 


46  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

deposited  by  some  wayward  ocean  current  to  a 
great  key  covered  with  forests  and  other  minor 
vegetation.  Here  countless  bacteria  change  in- 
visible mineral  elements  in  the  sea  water  into 
impalpable  mud  which  in  turn  hardens  and  be- 
comes rock.  Here  the  mangroves  toil  to  gather 
together  and  lay  a  foundation  for  what  shall  later 
be  fertile  soil.  The  sea  in  unceasing  restless  move- 
ment brings  in  material  from  near  and  far  and 
heaps  it  up  into  shoals  and  future  islands.  But 
then  with  seeming  inconsistency  it  turns  and 
angrily  smites  and  washes  away  these  islands  of 
its  own  making;  it  tears  up  the  solid  rock  which 
it  built  along  the  shores,  smashing  it  into  frag- 
ments and  scattering  it  far  and  wide.  By  its  own 
chemical  warfare  it  destroys  the  very  limestone 
fortress  it  built  so  well. 

In  seeming  caprice  the  inconstant  ocean  creates 
the  islands  and  devours  them  at  the  same  time, — 
industriously  building  to-day — busily  demolish- 
ing to-morrow.  So  delicately  balanced  are  these 
opposing  forces  that  the  slightest  change  in  con- 
ditions may  cause  the  upbuilding  to  stop  and  the 
wrecking  to  begin.  If  the  wind  is  gentle  and  sea 
smooth  the  constructive  work  progresses;  if  the 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  47 

wind  increases  ever  so  little  the  waves  tear  down 
and  destroy.  Again,  the  very  same  forces  may 
operate  in  exactly  the  opposite  manner.  But  the 
work  never  stops, — constructive  or  destructive,  it 
never  ceases  for  one  second. 

The  flora  of  the  entire  chain  of  islands  is  inter- 
esting, notwithstanding  the  terrible  devastation 
that  man  has  wrought  upon  it.  It  is  mostly 
derived  from  the  American  tropics,  the  majority 
of  the  plants  being  Cuban.  Nearly  all  the  higher 
land  was  once  covered  with  forest  which  varied 
from  low  dense  thorny  scrub  to  tall  closely  set 
growth.  The  latter  has  doubtless  been  long 
established  and  a  considerable  amount  of  leaf 
mold  has  accumulated.  Usually  in  such  ham- 
mocks the  ground  is  level  and  the  rock  is  buried 
beneath  a  vegetable  humus.  In  this  spongy  soil 
where  one  often  sinks  shoe  deep  little  under- 
growth is  seen.  Some  of  the  trees  are  of  goodly 
girth  and  their  straight  trunks  bear  aloft  dense 
heads  of  foliage.  Such  hammocks  still  exist  on 
No  Name,  Pumpkin,  Lignum- vitae,  Old  Rhodes, 
Elliott's,  and  on  Key  Largo.  A  few  years  ago  a 
hammock  that  was  perhaps  the  finest  and  most 
extensive  in  the  lower  part  of  the  State  covered 


48  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

the  latter  island  for  several  miles  in  the  vicinity  of 
Cross  Key.  The  Florida  East  Coast  Railway  cut 
a  right  of  way  through  this  for  the  Key  West 
extension  of  its  line  and  piled  the  felled  timber 
along  the  edges  of  the  clearing.  When  it  was 
fairly  dried  out  it  was  set  on  fire  by  sparks  from 
the  locomotives  (so  claimed)  and  this  unfor- 
tunately communicated  to  the  forest.  For  months 
the  fire  slowly  ate  its  way  through  the  peatlike 
soil  and  as  it  crept  along  its  ruinous  way  the  grand 
old  giants  of  the  hammock  toppled  and  fell,  a 
tragedy  in  every  fall.  Every  vestage  of  the  soil 
was  consumed  and  to-day  the  charred  ruin  glares 
in  the  sun  as  a  silent  and  pathetic  protest  against 
useless  waste  and  folly.  A  few  young  trees  are 
springing  up  here  and  there  and  thorny  vines 
are  beginning  to  scramble  over  the  melancholy 
wreck.  Nature  will  in  time  conceal  her  wound 
beneath  a  green  mantle — but  the  fine  forest  is 
forever  gone. 

Several  years  ago  there  was  an  almost  equally 
fine  hammock  on  No  Name  Key  but  the  settler's 
fire  and  ax  have  changed  the  greater  part  of  it 
into  a  desert.  In  1907  I  became  lost  in  a  splendid 
forest  of  silver  palms  on  Bahia  Honda  Key  but 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  49 

on  making  a  search  for  these  palms  three  years  ago 
I  found  the  spot  on  which  they  stood  as  bare  as  a 
prairie.  On  some  of  the  Upper  Keys  the  hammock 
was  cut  in  order  that  its  owners  might  plant  pine- 
apples. In  places  the  surface  of  the  islands  was 
formerly  a  bed  of  broken  rock  and  coral  and  on 
this  the  forest  eventually  sprung.  Ages  after- 
wards the  rocky  floor  became  overlaid  with  a  deep 
coating  of  leaf  mold,  the  patient  work  of  nature  in 
transforming  the  abundant  growth  into  a  fertile 
soil.  As  soon  as  the  forest  was  destroyed  the 
roots  began  to  decay,  the  soil  washed  down 
through  the  bed  of  loose  porous  rock,  and  in  five 
years  nothing  was  left  but  the  old  original  stony 
fields.  Finally  the  pineapple  crops  were  no  longer 
profitable,  failing  as  the  soil  departed.  Now 
comes  the  experiment  of  lime  trees,  planted  either 
on  these  bare  rocky  beds  or  in  the  virgin  forest 
cut  to  receive  them.  Thus  the  hammocks  on  the 
keys  are  being  rapidly  destroyed  and  will  soon  be 
a  thing  of  the  past. 

On  other  parts  of  these  islands  there  is  only  a 
dense,  tropical  scrub,  much  like  that  of  the  Ba- 
hamas. The  floor  is  of  the  sharpest,  most  irregu- 
lar limestone  with  almost  no  soil.  Gumbo  limbo 


50  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

(Bursera);  wild  tamarind  (Lysiloma);  Tremaflori 
dana;  cat's  claw  (Pithecolobium) ;  poison  tree  (Me- 
topium),  and  a  few  other  low  trees  constitute  the 
main  scrub.  On  the  Upper  Keys  there  are  acres 
of  stunted  century  plants,  often  growing  so  densely 
that  it  is  impossible  to  get  through;  with  them 
are  several  kinds  of  Opuntias  or  prickly  pears  and 
the  terrible  Cereus  pentagonus  which  sprawls  over 
all.  In  lower  ground  a  Bumelia  (B.  angustifolia) , 
usually  a  dense  shrub,  has  narrow  leaves  and  vicious 
thorns.  A  half  vine  (Amerimnon)  almost  fills 
solid  the  spaces  in  which  it  grows.  One  could  no 
more  force  his  way  through  a  haystack  than 
through  a  patch  of  this  shrub.  And  everywhere 
the  whole  is  literally  bound  together  by  the  pull- 
and-haul-back  (Pisonia),  the  vilest  thorny  shrub 
in  Florida. 

The  breeze  is  almost  entirely  shut  out  of  this 
dense  scrub;  usually  millions  of  mosquitoes  and 
sand  flies  torture  anyone  entering  it  during  the 
warmer  part  of  the  year,  and  sometimes  even  in 
the  winter.  I  have  had  a  good  deal  of  experience 
as  a  naturalist  collector  in  temperate,  subtropical, 
and  tropical  regions  and  I  am  ready  to  go  on 
record  with  the  statement  that  the  wilds  of  Lower 


fe 
1 =3 

C     E 

I- 

•b  w 


a* 

"o 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  51 

Florida  can  furnish  as  much  laceration  and  as 
many  annoyances  to  the  square  inch  as  any  place 
I  have  ever  seen.  When  one  has  been  at  work  on 
the  keys  or  parts  of  the  mainland  for  a  week  his 
body  and  limbs  are  filled  with  thorns  of  every 
description,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  spot  on  him 
that  is  not  bitten  by  insects.  A  man  who  can 
endure  all  this  and  never  lose  his  temper  is  fit  to  be 
a  king ;  he  can  govern  himself  and  he  should  be 
able  to  govern  others. 

On  one  occasion  I  undertook  a  trip  alone,  going 
by  rail  to  Big  Pine  Key  and  tramping  back  from 
station  to  station,  the  most  of  these  being  mere 
flag  stops.  I  searched  the  big  island  for  the  nearly 
extinct  arboreal  snail  (Liguus  solidus)  with  poor 
results,  and  then  tried  to  get  over  to  No  Name 
Key,  a  mile  away.  I  was  told  that  a  negro  had  a 
skiff  and  might  carry  me  over  if  I  hunted  him  up. 
His  name  is  Joseph  Sears,  a  powerful  man  in  the 
prime  of  life.  His  shirt  and  trousers  were  full  of 
holes  but  such  a  magnificent  physique  was  a 
goodly  sight  to  behold.  When  I  asked  him  if  he 
could  take  me  to  No  Name  he  looked  doubtfully 
at  the  weather  and  shook  his  head.  A  very 
strong  wind  had  been  blowing  from  the  north- 


52  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

east  for  several  days  and  the  sea  was  exceed- 
ingly rough. 

"I  doan'  know,  sah, "  he  said,  "dis  mighty  bad 
win',  an'  dar'll  be  a  big  sea  in  de  channel.  I 
doubt  if  I  can  put  yo  acrass,  sah." 

I  told  him  I  was  very  anxious  to  go  and  again 
he  surveyed  the  weather.  "If  dere's  any  mans 
in  dis  islan'  can  put  yo  'crass  it's  Josef" — the 
accent  on  the  last  syllable — "but  yo  got  no  idee 
how  rough  it  is  in  dat  channel."  I  strongly  urged 
him  to  make  an  attempt,  and  at  last  after  scratch- 
ing his  head  several  times  and  telling  me  that 
No  Name  was  full  of  rattlesnakes  he  said: 

"I  try  it,  boss,  but  I  tell  yo  one  t'ing,  if  I  put 
yo  'crass  yo  got  to  pay  me  mighty  well  foh  it." 

I  had  only  money  enough  reasonably  to  carry 
me  through  the  trip,  and  as  I  thought  that  "Josef" 
intended  to  make  me  pay  an  exorbitant  price  I 
very  reluctantly  concluded  to  give  up  going. 
However,  I  plucked  up  sufficient  courage  to  ask 
how  much. 

"Hit'll  take  de  bes'  paht  of  a  day,  boss,  an'  I 
bleedzed  to  chahge  yo  dollah  an'  a  half." 

As  soon  as  I  could  recover  from  my  astonishment 
at  his  exorbitant  figure  I  told  him  we  would  go. 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  53 

His  fine,  strong  boat,  the  "Three  Fannys,"  he 
hauled  into  the  water  and  got  me  aboard.  Before 
he  could  ship  the  oars  she  had  drifted  quite  a  dis- 
tance to  the  leeward,  such  was  the  force  of  the 
wind.  It  blew  across  from  No  Name  Key,  a  full 
mile  away,  and  the  sea  was  covered  with  white 
caps.  For  a  long  time  "Josef"  made  scarcely  any 
headway,  gaining  a  little  when  the  wind  lulled 
and  dropping  back  when  it  blew  harder.  I  en- 
couraged him,  but  he  said:  "Dis  nottin';  wait  till 
yo  get  in  de  channel,  den  she  shake  yo  up." 

Sure  enough,  we  did  get  shaken  up  when  we  got 
to  the  channel.  He  expended  all  this  splendid 
strength  in  trying  to  drive  the  boat  ahead  as  he 
continually  shouted  to  the  sea  and  his  skiff. 
"Wat  yo  mean  comin'  heah  dis  away?"  "Keep 
off  fum  heah  an'  lemme  'lone."  "Stan'  up  to  her 
ole  gal  an'  doan'  let  her  knock  yo  out. "  Whenever 
a  big  sea  struck  us  he  gave  vent  to  a  whoop  that 
could  have  been  heard  to  No  Name. 

Little  by  little  he  worked  across  the  channel, 
but  when  nearly  across  a  heavy  sea  struck  us  and 
knocked  the  port  oar  and  rowlock  out.  The  boat 
fell  off  broadside  to  the  sea  and  for  a  minute  I  was 
sure  we  would  capsize.  I  got  the  rowlock  in  place 


54  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

and  climbed  up  on  the  weather  gunwale,  but  in  a 
short  time  he  had  the  oar  in  place  and  brought  the 
head  of  the  boat  into  the  wind. 

"Man,  suh,"  he  said,  "ef  dat  boat  capsize  we 
drif'  out  into  de  Gu'f  Stream  an'  de  shahks  sure 
get  us!" 

Across  the  channel  the  water  became  smoother 
and  we  soon  landed  at  an  old  wharf.  "Josef" 
took  me  to  a  fine  hammock  and  helped  me  search 
for  tree  snails,  but  we  found  only  a  few  dead  ones. 
He  told  me  he  had  helped  to  cut  down  a  lot  of  the 
original  forest  several  years  before. 

"Man,"  said  he,  "I  could  a-got  yo  a  hatful 
ob  dem  snail  den!" 

Towards  evening  of  another  day  I  tramped  into 
the  little  village  of  Vaca  or  "Conch  Town,"  a 
settlement  of  Bahama  negroes,  where  I  tried  in 
vain  to  get  a  bed  and  food;  no  one  would  let  me 
sleep  indoors  but  at  last  I  got  permission  to  occupy 
a  ramshackle  outhouse.  I  hurriedly  put  up  my 
mosquito  bar  and  as  I  had  no  supper  I  rolled  up  in 
my  blanket  and  tried  to  fit  my  body  to  the  irregu- 
lar, rocky  floor.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
the  night  was  cold  the  mosquitoes  were  bad.  I 
soon  became  completely  chilled.  The  dogs  be- 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  55 

longing  to  the  family  having  a  better  title  to  the 
shanty  came  in  to  occupy  it  with  me.  In  order 
to  get  warm  they  huddled  close  to  me  and  tore 
down  my  bar,  letting  in  the  mosquitoes.  I  got  up 
and  undertook  to  walk  about  in  order  to  warm 
myself,  but  on  account  of  the  irregular  rocky  floor 
and  the  darkness  I  was  in  danger  of  falling,  so  I 
went  back  to  my  flea-bitten  dogs.  Later  a  train 
came  rushing  along  not  far  away  and  I  made  my 
way  out  and  walked  up  and  down  the  track  until 
after  an  age,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  I  saw  the  first 
streaks  of  the  blessed  dawn. 

In  the  morning  I  got  a  few  cooked  black  beans 
from  the  proprietor  of  my  hotel  and  started  north 
along  the  track,  collecting  and  studying  geology. 
That  evening  I  arrived  at  another  flag  station 
and  applied  at  a  fairly  decent-looking  house  for 
lodging  and  supper.  It  was  evident  that  the 
woman  who  came  to  the  door  did  not  welcome  me, 
and  when  I  told  her  I  wasn't  a  tramp,  but  a  wan- 
dering naturalist,  she  said:  "O,  they  all  'as  some 
fine  hexcuse;  there  was  one  'ere  the  other  day  as 
said  'e  was  a  doctor,  but  'e  was  nothing  but  a 
tramp,  an'  'e  was  better  dressed  than  you."  Then 
I  went  out  to  the  railroad  and  looked  myself  over. 


56  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

I  wore  a  tolerably  whole  suit  of  khaki,  not  too 
clean,  however,  for  I  had  lately  gone  through  a 
freshly  burnt  district  and  I  was  covered  with 
black  marks.  My  coat  and  wool  hat  were  torn 
by  "pull-and-haul-back"  vines  and  my  strong 
leather  shoes  were  literally  cut  to  pieces  on  the 
sharp  rocks,  so  that  I  had  been  compelled  to  tie 
them  on  to  my  lacerated  feet  with  old  pieces  of 
cloth.  If  anything  else  was  lacking  in  my  make- 
up to  prove  that  I  was  a  genuine  knight  of  the 
road,  the  two-quart  water  can  which  I  carried 
completed  the  evidence.  So  I  '"unted  up  a 
hempty  'ouse"  as  the  woman  had  suggested,  put 
up  my  bar,  made  a  bed  of  grass,  and  as  the  weather 
had  moderated,  I  slept  royally.  The  next  after- 
noon I  flagged  the  train  and  arrived  home  after 
dark,  having  been  thirty-eight  hours  without 
food. 

The  waters  of  the  key  region  are  exceedingly 
shallow,  the  bottom  either  being  composed  of 
ragged  rock  or  very  soft,  almost  fathomless  mud. 
Navigation  chiefly  consists  in  getting  aground 
and  getting  afloat  again.  One  never  makes  an 
extended  cruise  among  the  keys  without  getting 
"piled  up"  as  it  is  called,  often  several  times  a 


THE  FLORIDA  KEYS  57 

day,  and  strangely  enough  this  generally  seems 
to  occur  when  the  tide  is  falling.  If  the  boat 
gets  on  the  rock  bottom  one  is  fortunate  if  it  is 
not  seriously  injured;  if  it  gets  fast  in  the  mud 
there  is  pretty  sure  to  be  an  amazing  amount  of 
trouble  getting  afloat.  In  the  former  case  every- 
body must  get  overboard  and  try  to  lift  the  boat 
out  of  the  grip  of  the  ragged  rock.  If  the  vessel  is 
fast  in  the  mud  poles  will  do  little  good  as  they 
can  usually  be  pushed  to  full  length  into  the  soft 
marl.  The  engine  is  reversed,  all  must  get  out, 
sometimes  sinking  in  to  the  waist,  and  lift  until 
they  can  see  stars.  Often  the  boat  is  delayed  for 
hours. 

The  greater  part  of  Big  Pine,  Little  Pine,  a 
part  of  No  Name,  and  one  or  two  other  keys  of 
the  lower  chain  are  covered  with  an  open  forest 
of  the  common  Caribbean  pine  of  the  lower  main- 
land, interspersed  with  one  or  two  Thrinax  palms, 
but  only  a  few  pines  are  found  on  the  Upper  Keys. 
The  surface  of  the  Lower  Keys  is  largely  plate 
rock,  far  less  ragged  than  that  of  the  upper  chain 
of  islands.  This  and  the  fact  that  the  former 
are  almost  free  from  the  sharp  pointed,  dwarf 
Agave  and  entirely  so  from  the  dreadfully  spiny 


58  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

sprawling  Cereus  make  it  much  easier  to  get  about 
them. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  forests 
of  these  islands  bristle  with  a  great  variety  of 
thorns;  in  spite  of  the  stifling  heat  within  them; 
the  uneven  rocky  floor;  the  difficult  navigation, 
and  the  hosts  of  tormenting  insects,  the  Florida 
Keys  possess  many  charms  and  allurements  to 
the  lover  of  nature,  or  to  the  observant,  intelligent 
tourist.  There  are  over  600  species  of  flowering 
plants  known  to  inhabit  these  islands  and  a  large 
variety  of  interesting  birds.  The  entomologist 
finds  here  a  rich  field  and  the  reefs  swarm  with 
varied  and  vividly  colored  life.  Many  of  the 
beaches  are  composed  of  gleaming  white  coral 
sand  and  everywhere  there  is  the  intense  glow  of 
the  sunlight  which  is  characteristic  of  the  tropics. 
There  is  often  a  peculiar  shimmer  of  the  dazzling 
light  in  which  distant  islands  are  lifted  up  mirage- 
like  into  the  atmosphere,  even  until  their  connec- 
tion with  the  earth  seems  severed.  The  various 
tintings  of  the  sea  from  pale  to  deep  green  and 
through  almost  every  shade  of  blue  are  entrancing. 

Finally  the  Florida  Keys  are  the  only  bit  of  the 
real  tropics  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  III 
THe  Ten  THousand  Islands 

TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS— the  very 
name  savors  of  mystery,  of  the  joys  of 
exploration  and  discovery. 

Beginning  just  south  of  Naples  on  the 
southwest  coast  of  Florida  this  archipelago  ex-  $T~U*A 
tends  southeast  in  an  unbroken  curve  to  North-  'fK*+ 
west  Cape  Sable  its  concave  side  towards  the  sea. 
Those  most  familiar  with  the  region  say  the  group 
of  islands  has  an  average  width  of  eight  to  ten 
miles.  The  entire  region  consists  of  a  myriad  of 
low  islands,  covered  with  tall,  slender,  closely  set 
mangroves  having  but  few  buttressed  roots,  with 
here  and  there,  some  black  mangrove,  button- 
wood,  white  mangrove,  and  a  few  other  swamp- 
loving  trees.  Along  the  sea  front  and  for  some  dis- 
tance inland  the  islands  are  separated  by  channels 
of  varying  width  and  often  of  considerable  depth. 
Through  these  the  tides  sweep  strongly,  dissolving 
59 


60  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

and  scouring  out  their  rocky  bottoms.  These  pas- 
sages are  drains  for  the  surplus  water  of  the  Ever- 
glades and  of  the  low  lands  back  of  the  archipelago. 

As  one  penetrates  the  group  towards  the  main- 
land these  tideways  become  shallower  and  nar- 
rower; the  low-lying  land  rises  very  slightly  and 
occasional  saw  palmettos  and  cabbage  palms 
appear.  Ficus  aurea,  Ilex  cassine,  and  wax  myrtle 
are  soon  after  met  and  finally,  still  farther  on,  are 
low  prairies  with  scattered  pine  and  cypress.  So 
the  Ten  Thousand  Islands  gradually  merge  into 
the  mainland  like  a  dissolving  film  change  and  it 
is  difficult  to  say  just  where  one  ends  or  the  other 
begins. 

I  am  told  by  those  who  know  that  there  is  no 
natural  land  in  the  entire  region  which  rises  above 
the  level  of  an  extremely  high  tide.  I  have  been 
over  much  of  it  and  my  observation  confirms  the 
statement.  Just  north  of  Cape  Sable  for  seven 
or  eight  miles  fronting  the  open  sea,  the  dense 
lofty  mangrove  forest  stands  like  a  solid  green 
wall  seventy  or  eighty  feet  high.  The  Gulf  of 
Mexico  bathes  the  roots  of  this  wonderful  growth 
and  although  its  great  swells  roll  in  against  them 
over  an  open  reach  of  a  thousand  miles  they  do 


t 

«J    « 

II 


IJ 
A*. 


THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS         61 

but  little  harm.  But  few  dead  or  fallen  trees  are 
ever  seen,  though  in  westerly  storms  the  sea  must 
assault  them  with  terrific  fury.  This  lofty,  sullen 
forest,  opposing  in  gloomy  grandeur  the  open  ocean 
and  ever  defying  its  force,  is  one  of  the  most  awe- 
inspiring  sights  in  Florida. 

North  of  this  forest  wall  is  a  deep  bay  or  in- 
dentation of  the  shore  nearly  three  miles  across 
and  extending  about  two  miles  inland;  there  begin 
the  numerous  islands  of  the  Shark  River  Archi- 
pelago,— really  a  part  of  the  Ten  Thousand 
Islands.  It,  too,  is  a  maze  of  islands,  channels, 
lagoons,  mud  flats,  and  low,  wet  prairies  and 
forests,  the  latter  of  mangrove  and  other  littoral 
vegetation.  The  water  varies  from  salt  to  brack- 
ish, though  in  places  it  is  actually  fresh,  the  salin- 
ity depending  on  the  season  and  rains.  A  vast 
amount  of  Everglades  drainage  passes  through 
the  Shark  River  Archipelago.  This  island  laby- 
rinth extends  to  the  east  and  southeast  for  twenty 
miles,  even  penetrating  the  region  back  of  the 
slightly  elevated  prairie  east  of  Cape  Sable.  In 
fact  it  nearly  reaches  the  south  coast,  where  it  is 
generally  known  as  White  Water  Bay.  There 
are  several  open  bodies  of  water  within  this  area 


62  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

which  have  received  names, — such  as  Coot  Bay, 
Bear  Lake,  and  Mud  Hole  Lake,  the  last  name 
being  especially  appropriate  and  equally  applicable 
to  all.  The  whole  region  is  incorrectly  represented 
on  our  maps.  Obviously  it  is  an  amazingly  diffi- 
cult and  complicated  territory  to  survey,  but  the 
need  of  it  is  not  very  pressing. 

The  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  have  merely 
outlined  the  edges  of  the  islands  which  face  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Natives  of  the  region  no  doubt 
have  extensively  explored  the  archipelago  but  it 
is  probable  that  many  of  the  islands  have  never 
been  visited  by  white  man.  The  Seminole  In- 
dians pass  through  in  their  dugouts  to  and  from 
their  camps  on  the  mainland  but  I  do  not  think 
that  any  of  them  actually  live  in  the  region. 
They  have  occasional  camps  in  the  low  pine 
woods  which  alternate  with  cypress  swamps, 
("strands"  as  they  are  called)  on  the  borderland. 

Several  of  the  outlying  isles  facing  the  sea  have 
sandy  beaches  as  is  the  case  along  most  of  the 
Florida  west  coast.  In  some  places,  notably  out- 
side of  Lostmans  Key  or  island,  there  is  a  wide 
area  of  sand  washed  up  by  the  surf.  The  name, 
by  the  way,  of  this  island  is  in  dispute,  some 


THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS         63 

setting  forth  the  claims  of  one  Mr.  Lossman  and 
others  preferring  the  legend  of  a  man  lost  upon 
it.  There  is  a  hammock  somewhere  on  Lostmans 
reported  to  harbor  a  colony  of  the  large  tree  snails. 
I  landed  once  for  the  purpose  of  stalking  them. 
There  were  five  in  our  party  and  evening  being 
near,  we  separated  and  struck  out  for  the  interior, 
agreeing  that  the  first  to  reach  the  hammock 
should  shout  for  the  others.  From  a  sandy  prairie 
I  entered  a  dense,  lofty  forest  of  mangroves  and 
Avicennias,  not  paying  much  attention  to  direc- 
tion in  my  eagerness  to  find  the  hammock.  Oc- 
casionally the  floor  of  the  swamp  was  somewhat 
open,  probably  because  the  forest  was  so  dense 
that  nothing  could  grow  under  it.  In  other  spots 
the  trees  did  not  stand  quite  so  close  and  young  man- 
groves and  other  littoral  vegetation  grew  thickly. 
It  was  a  very  dry  time  and  the  ground  muck  was 
fairly  firm,  making  walking  less  difficult;  though  in 
places  I  sank  at  every  step  to  my  ankles.  On  ac- 
count of  the  occasional  thick  undergrowth  I  could 
not  maintain  a  straight  course,  but  hurried  on 
rapidly  as  possible  toward  what  I  supposed  was 
the  center  of  the  island.  Having  tramped  and 
floundered  along  for  half  a  mile  or  more  I  noticed 


64  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

that  the  sunlight  no  longer  came  from  the  west 
but  from  the  northeast  instead.  I  realized  that  I 
was  lost  in  this  gloomy  forest  with  night  just  at 
hand. 

My  sense  of  orientation  is  so  poor  that  the  bow 
of  a  boat  continues  to  point  always  in  the  same 
direction  as  when  I  got  aboard.  For  some  time  I 
labored  about  without  any  idea  of  direction  and 
finally  resigned  myself  to  the  unhappy  thought  of 
a  night  in  the  swamp.  Though  the  mosquitoes  were 
not  at  their  worst  they  were  abundant  enough  to 
make  sleep  impossible,  and  moreover,  they  were 
increasing  as  the  light  faded.  I  tried  to  figure  out 
where  the  shore  should  be  but  it  was  no  use. 

Losing  oneself  in  a  forest  where  the  consequences 
are  likely  to  be  serious  is  most  disquieting.  The 
feeling  that  one's  wits  have  deserted  him,  and  the 
sense  of  lonely  helplessness  are  most  depressing. 
I  searched  my  pockets  for  matches,  and  found  in- 
stead a  small  forgotten  compass.  I  knew  the  shore 
must  lie  to  the  southwest  so  violating  my  confused 
ideas  of  direction  I  followed  the  course  the  needle 
indicated.  I  pressed  ahead  excitedly  and  as  fast 
as  possible,  now  and  then  turning  aside  where  the 
young  growth  was  too  dense  to  push  through. 


I! 


THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS         65 

Before  long  the  forest  was  a  little  more  open  in 
front  and  a  short  distance  farther  I  emerged  at  the 
very  spot  where  I  had  crawled  through  into  the 
swamp  an  hour  before.  The  sun  had  set  and  as  I 
hastened  across  the  rolling  sandy  plain  I  saw  our 
launch  at  anchor  and  the  skiff  on  the  beach. 
Some  of  our  party  were  just  coming  out  of  the 
swamp,  but  none  of  them  had  found  the  hammock. 
I  concluded  that  the  name  "Lostmans  Key"  was 
entirely  appropriate. 

Here  and  there  among  the  Ten  Thousand 
Islands  are  shell  mounds,  some  of  them  of  con- 
siderable size;  indeed  that  on  Chokoloskee  Island 
is  said  to  cover  two  hundred  acres.  I  may  remark 
in  passing  that  like  the  geography  of  this  region 
the  spelling  of  all  its  names  is  very  confusing.  The 
name  of  this  particular  island  is  variously  written ; 
on  some  of  the  maps  the  island  is  spelled  one  way 
and  the  village  another.  There  is  a  "Harney" 
or  "Hurney"  River;  the  same  stream  is  called 
"Chokaliskee,"  "Chokaluskee,"  "Chokoloskee" 
and  "Turners"  River.  On  some  maps  a  great 
arm  of  the  sea,  twenty  miles  wide  and  over  thirty 
long,  enters  this  region  just  north  of  Cape  Sable 
and  is  called  "Ponce  de  Leon  Bay"  and  again 


66  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

"White  Water  Bay."  The  entrance  into  this  bay 
is  in  reality  a  narrow,  brackish  stream,  or  rather 
the  two  delta  mouths,  of  Jos  River  and  Big  Sable 
Creek  which  open  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  through 
the  great  wall  of  mangrove  forest.  There  is  also 
a  water  connection  to  the  north  with  the  Shark 
River  Archipelago.  Chokoloskee  Bay  is  some- 
times represented  as  a  large  triangular  sound  and 
again  as  a  mere  constricted  channel.  On  some 
maps  it  is  not  indicated  at  all. 

The  village  of  Chokoloskee  is  built  on  a  great 
island  shell  mound  in  one  place  thirty-five  feet 
high.  At  another  spot  on  the  top  of  a  mound  a 
space  forty  feet  square  is  leveled  off  as  if  intended 
for  a  lookout  or  possibly  for  the  site  of  a  building. 
In  places  the  shells  are  disposed  in  long  parallel 
ricks,  as  though  the  Indians  who  placed  them  had 
begun  the  process  at  the  shore  and  gradually 

I  moved  inland.  The  shells  forming  these  mounds 
are  all  of  species  now  living  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
near  by  and  are  mostly  the  common  oyster  (Ostrea 
virginica) ;  Fulgur  perversus,  a  large,  reversed  shell ; 
F.  pyrum,  Fasciolaria  gigantea,  the  largest  gastro- 
pod mollusk  of  the  new  world,  F.  tulipa,  F.  distans, 
Melongena  corona,  and  Murex  pomum.  There  are 


// 


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THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS         67 

also  great  numbers  of  the  big  clam,  Venus  mor- 
foni,  several  species  of  the  Macrocallistas,  Telli- 
nas,  Lucinas,  Dosinias,  and  other  bivalve  mol- 
lusk  genera.  Without  doubt  the  flesh  of  all  these 
were  used  for  food  by  the  aborigines  formerly 
living  here. 

Who  built  these  mounds;  what  kind  of  people 
were  they ;  whence  came  they ;  how  long  did  they 
remain;  what  has  become  of  them?  Were  they 
of  the  same  race  that  built  the  fresh-water  shell 
mounds  along  the  St.  John's  River  in  northern 
and  central  Florida  and  elsewhere  north  to'  New 
England?  Did  they  drive  out  some  still  older 
race  when  they  occupied  this  territory  and  has 
some  later  tribe  conquered  and  exterminated 
them?  What  of  their  lives,  their  habits,  and 
customs?  The  archaeologist  has  examined  their 
shell  heaps  and  found  where  they  made  their  fires, 
he  has  unearthed  broken  human  bones, — were 
they  cannibals?  He  has  found  entire  human 
bones,  sometimes  laid  out  as  if  for  burial.  He 
has  gathered  many  fragments  of  coarse  pottery, 
sometimes  plain,  sometimes  decorated,  and  he 
has  compared  them  with  pottery  from  distant 
mounds.  He  has  taken  from  the  shell  heaps  what 


68  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

seem  to  be  bone  implements,  some  of  them  made 
for  purposes  that  he  cannot  even  guess. 

There  are  other  low  mounds  in  this  region  made 
of  earth  with  a  slight  admixture  of  shells.  There 
are  also  long,  straight  canals  cut  through  what 
are  now  mangrove  forests,  some  of  which  contain 
water  and  are  more  or  less  navigable  for  canoes. 
Sometimes  a  layer  of  shells  alternates  with  one  of 
soil,  as  though  the  mound  had  been  inhabited  and 
built  up  for  a  certain  time  and  then  abandoned. 
Whether  the  same  tribe  returned  after  long  ab- 
sence or  another  came  we  do  not  know.  In  some 
of  the  mounds  the  pottery  of  the  upper  layers  is 
of  a  finer  quality  and  more  artistically  finished 
than  that  from  below;  this  conveys  the  idea  that 
the  growth  of  the  mound  was  of  long  duration; 
possibly  that  it  had  been  inhabited  by  different 
tribes. 

Jeffreys  Wyman  and  Clarence  B.  Moore  have 
made  extensive  investigations  among  the  freshwater 
shell  mounds  of  Florida  and  the  latter  has  studied 
these  same  marine  shell  mounds,  but  only  a  begin- 
ning has  really  been  made  and  results  are  meager. 
Even  in  Europe,  where  the  remains  of  prehistoric 
man  have  been  exhaustively  studied,  archaeologists 


THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS         69 

differ  fundamentally  on  many  vital  points,  such 
as  the  duration  of  certain  tribes,  the  time  of  their 
appearance  and  disappearance,  and  on  many 
details  concerning  their  lives. 

Let  us  suppose  that  by  some  terrible  catastrophe 
the  entire  population  of  the  United  States  should 
be  destroyed  and  the  whole  country  left  unin- 
habited for  ages.  Then,  say,  ten  thousand  years 
after  this  devastation  some  wandering  archae- 
ologist should  visit  what  was  formerly  Bade 
County,  Florida.  There  would  not  be  even  the 
proverbial ' '  two  streaks  of  rust  and  a  right  of  way  " 
left  of  any  railroad.  In  a  hundred  years  all  the 
ties,  bridges,  and  wood  of  any  kind  would  be 
crumbled  into  dust,  and  in  a  few  centuries  at  most 
all  the  metal  would  be  rusted  out  and  scattered 
by  the  elements;  the  low  cuts  and  embankments 
would  be  quite  obliterated  by  rain  and  wind 
action.  Down  on  the  Key  extension  some  remains 
of  the  concrete  arches  might  be  left  and  they 
would  probably  be  taken  for  the  ruins  of  an  old 
aqueduct  which  had  supplied  water  to  some  long 
lost  city.  Of  Miami,  the  "concrete  city,"  there 
would  probably  remain  a  few  fragments  of  walls 
which  had  not  yet  been  overthrown  by  time  and 


70  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

the  hurricanes.  Here  and  there  would  be  found 
low,  shapeless  mounds  overgrown  with  thick, 
tropical  scrub.  Should  this  scientific  explorer 
proceed  to  excavate  he  might  unearth  a  lower  jaw 
of  a  white  man  and  the  skull  of  a  low-type  negro. 
He  and  other  learned  scientists  would  probably 
write  profound  papers  on  this  wonderful  find, 
putting  the  two  together  and  wondering  that  a 
man  with  a  low,  retreating  forehead  should  have 
such  a  high  type  of  jaw.  If  the  archaeologist 
should  dig  down  and  find  broken  glass  and  iron- 
stone chinaware,  he  would  conclude  that  the 
Miamians  had  some  knowledge  of  art,  but  should 
he  happen  to  make  his  excavation  in  the  back 
yard  of  a  restaurant  and  unearth  a  quantity  of 
oyster  and  clam  shells  he  might  be  convinced 
that  they  were  of  a  low  type  that  subsisted  on 
shellfish. 

One  bit  of  evidence  furnishes  a  clue  to  the 
amount  of  time  elapsed  since  these  mound  builders 
vanished,  and  it  indicates  that  their  depart- 
ure took  place  a  long  time  ago.  As  I  have  al- 
ready said  there  is  little  or  no  natural  land  in 
the  Ten  Thousand  Islands  region  that  rises  above 
an  extreme  high  tide.  This  would  indicate  that 


THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS         71 

no  real  hammock  developed  before  the  advent  of 
the  mound  builders.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  existed 
there  even  while  they  occupied  the  country.  The 
people  who  lived  there  certainly  created  the  shell 
mounds,  the  only  possible  places  on  which  dry- 
land hammock  could  grow,  and  as  they  must  have 
lived  on  these  mounds  after  they  built  them  it  is 
more  than  likely  the  hammock  growth  only  sprang 
up  and  covered  the  surface  after  their  departure. 
It  takes  a  long  time  for  shells  on  the  surface  to 
disintegrate  and  form  a  soil,  on  which  herbaceous 
vegetation  can  subsist.  The  gumbo  limbo  tree 
was,  no  doubt,  a  precursor  of  the  hammock,  as  it 
will  grow  in  very  arid  situations.  After  a  little 
soil  was  formed,  seeds  of  the  hammock  trees  were 
borne  in  by  the  sea  or  brought  by  birds,  and  grew. 
I  counted  on  Chokoloskee  Island  over  thirty 
species  of  tropical  trees  and  large  shrubs,  besides 
several  warm  temperate  forms.  • 

After  the  hammocks  were  established  three 
species  of  arboreal  snails  appeared  and  became  a 
part  of  their  fauna.  One  of  these  is  a  Liguus 
(L.  jasciatus)  which  is  represented  in  the  Ten 
Thousand  Islands  by  two  quite  distinct  sub- 
species; there  is  also  the  "black  snail,"  a  variant 


72  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

of  Liguus  crenatus  and  then  a  large  Oxystyla.  All 
these  grow  only  on  the  trees  in  the  high  hammocks 
and  are  found  living  to-day  on  the  Upper  Keys, 
having  possibly  originated  on  them  and  crossed 
over  to  the  Cape  Sable  region  by  way  of  the  old 
land  bridge  which  I  have  elsewhere  mentioned. 
From  Cape  Sable  they  appear  to  have  reached 
the  Ten  Thousand  Islands.  I  do  not  believe  it 
was  possible  for  these  hammock-living  arboreal 
snails  to  have  inhabited  these  islands  previous  to 
the  coming  of  these  prehistoric  peoples,  nor,  in  all 
probability  until  after  they  vanished.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  the  Upper  Keys  were  finished  into 
essentially  their  present  condition  at  the  time  of 
the  second  Pleistocene  uplift  and  that  these  tree 
snails  were  developed,  migrated  to  the  mainland, 
and  from  there  to  the  archipelago  at  about  this 
time.  If  I  am  right  in  these  surmises  it  seems 
quite  probable  that  these  aborigines  are  as  old 
as  the  completed  upper  chain  of  keys  and  that 
they  passed  away  while  the  present  hammock 
fauna  was  migrating  to  the  archipelago. 

In  his  most  readable  book,  Florida  Trails,  Win- 
throp  Packard  states  that  the  royal  palm  is  not 
a  native  of  Florida.  This  is  a  mistake  as  it  may 


Native  Royal  Palm  Growing  at  Rogers  River,  Ten  Thousand  Islands 

Photo  by   Dr.  John   K.  Small 


THE  TEN  THOUSAND  ISLANDS         73 

be  found  growing  wild  in  several  localities  in 
our  State.  When  I  came  to  Dade  County  seven- 
teen fine  specimens  grew  in  a  swamp  just  north  of 
my  home.  At  Paradise  Key,  in  the  lower  Ever- 
glades, now  a  State  park,  over  2000  specimens, 
large  and  small,  survive.  It  is  said  that  a  very 
tall  royal  grew  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Sable  a 
useful  landmark  for  seamen,  but  that  it  was  cut 
down  during  the  Civil  War.  This  palm  exists  at 
several  places  on  the  south  and  southwest  coasts 
of  the  State  and  also  here  in  the  Ten  Thousand 
Islands  southeast  of  Cape  Romano.  At  the  time 
I  first  visited  this  hammock  in  1885  there  were  said 
to  be  500  large  trees  and  in  addition  there  were 
great  numbers  of  smaller  ones. 

The  coconut  has  been  called  "A  marvel  of 
Titanic  grace"  and  with  equal  propriety  the 
"royal"  as  it  is  generally  called  here,  might  be 
styled  a  marvel  of  Titanic  majesty.  It  attains  a 
height  of  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  and  some- 
times even  more,  towering  up,  far  above  the 
tallest  forest,  where  it  spreads  to  the  sun  its  regal 
crown  of  intensely  deep  green,  glossy  leaves.  No 
other  tree  can  be  so  appropriately  called  a  king 
and  as  one  gazes  at  it  he  may  well  appreciate 


74  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Kingsley's  words:  "It  is  a  joy  forever  and  a  sight 
never  to  be  forgotten."  It  is  probably  the  most 
magnificent  vegetable  production  in  the  world, 
and  one  of  which  all  Floridians  should  be  proud. 

The  Ten  Thousand  Islands  is  a  region  of  mys- 
tery and  loneliness;  gloomy,  monotonous,  weird, 
and  strange,  yet  possessing  a  decided  fascination. 
To  the  casual  stranger  each  and  every  part  of  the 
region  looks  exactly  like  all  the  rest;  each  islet 
and  water  passage  seems  but  the  counterpart  of 
hundreds  of  others.  Even  those  who  long  have 
lived  within  this  region  and  are  familiar  with  its 
tortuous  channels  often  get  lost.  The  chief  native 
topic  is  of  parties  lost  and  wandering  hopeless 
for  days  among  its  labyrinthine  ways. 


CHAPTER  IV 
Cape  Sable 

THE  name  Cape  Sable, — cape  of  sand — is 
a  somewhat  improper  designation  for  it 
includes  three  quite  distinct  capes,  some 
distance  apart,  though  the  whole  forms 
a  decided  projection  of  land  into  the  sea.  North- 
west Cape  is  the  northernmost  point,  then  fol- 
low Middle  Cape  and  finally  East  Cape,  the  latter 
the  most  prominent  of  the  three;  there  are  slight, 
open  bays  between  them.  The  trio  may  be  said 
to  separate  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  from  the  Strait  of 
Florida.  It  is  about  ten  miles  from  Northwest 
Cape  to  East  Cape,  and  the  latter  has  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  the  southernmost  point  of  the  main- 
land of  the  United  States.  It  extends  about  a 
half  mile  farther  south  than  a  slight  projection 
just  east  of  it  and  it  is  nearly  fifty  statute  miles 
nearer  the  Equator  than  is  the  southern  most  tip 

of  Texas. 

75 


76  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

From  Northwest  Cape  to  East  Cape  there  is  a 
continuous  stretch  of  silicious  sand  which  extends 
back  from  the  beach  a  considerable  distance.  It 
stops  abruptly  at  the  edge  of  a  great  mangrove 
swamp.  Farther  inland  is  a  series  of  brackish 
lakes  and  these  lie  more  or  less  parallel  with  the 
sandy  shore, — one  of  these  is  White  Water  Lake. 
Still  farther  inland  and  beyond  both  swamp  and 
lakes  lie  rich  prairies  which,  for  the  extreme  end 
of  Florida,  are  quite  high. 

In  the  lower  Florida  region  making  a  landing 
is  often  a  difficult  matter.  In  some  cases,  espe- 
cially along  the  keys,  the  beach  consists  of  terribly 
ragged  rock,  often  extending  beyond  the  low  tide 
mark.  One  is  liable  to  get  aground  and  injure 
his  boat  and  once  on  the  land  walking  is  well  nigh 
impossible.  Usually  near  the  shore  the  sea  is 
very  shallow  and  the  bottom  of  soft,  sticky  mud. 
The  explorer  at  times  cannot  get  within  many 
rods  of  such  a  beach,  even  with  a  light  skiff,  and 
he  must  get  overboard  and  wade.  Too  often  the 
shore  is  fringed  with  an  almost  impenetrable 
barrier  of  mangroves  which  may  be  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  wide.  One  must  work  in  somehow  to  the 
edge  of  these,  dragging  his  boat  and  making  it 


I    3 


CAPE  SABLE  77 


fast  to  the  arching  roots,  then  climb  like  an  awk- 
ward monkey  over  and  through  the  dreadful 
tangle  to  dry  land.  If  a  naturalist  he  likely  has 
to  carry  bags  for  specimens,  grub  hoc,  spade,  ax, 
and  camera,  besides  various  other  collecting  out- 
fit, some  in  his  hands  and  more  slung  about  him. 
The  least  slip  means  a  fall  into  the  water  or 
among  the  sharp  oysters  attached  to  the  roots. 
Often  the  growth  is  so  dense  and  tall  that  the 
harassed  explorer  can  only  see  a  short  distance  in 
any  direction  and  he  can  rarely  find  the  sun  owing 
to  the  dense  foliage.  So  it  is  too  easy  to  go  wrong 
and  even  to  describe  a  laborious  circle  back  to  the 
shore.  If  he  does  reach  terra  firma  and  complete 
his  collections  he  can  only  guess  on  the  way  back 
where  his  skiff  may  be.  He  will  likely  crawl  a 
long  distance  out  to  find  the  water, — but  not  the 
boat.  It  is  better  to  blaze  the  trees  going  in  and 
hope  to  be  able  to  see  the  marks  going  out.  At 
last  he  too  often  finds  the  tide  fallen  and  he  must 
wade  again  and  drag  the  unwilling  skiff, — seem- 
ingly miles. 

But  all  is  different  at  Sable.  This  beach  is  a 
paradise  indeed  for  him  who  is  fed  up  on  the  other 
sorts.  Comparatively  deep  water  comes  in  right 


78  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

to  the  shore.  One  may  anchor  a  boat  drawing 
five  feet  hard  upon  the  beach,  and  run  his  skiff 
directly  on  the  sandy  shore  and  step  off  dry  shod. 
Dr.  John  K.  Small,  my  companion  on  many  col- 
lecting trips,  has  suggested  that  this  deep  water 
is  caused  by  the  strong  currents  which  sweep  by 
this  headland,  and  I  am  sure  he  is  right.  Strangely 
enough  there  is  a  five-foot  tide  here  though  a 
short  distance  to  the  north  (on  the  Gulf  shore)  it 
is  hardly  over  a  foot ;  it  is  even  less  in  Florida  Bay, 
to  the  eastward.  Everywhere  along  this  ex- 
tended, uninterrupted  beach  the  sand  is  firm  and 
there  are  no  mangroves.  The  country,  for  the 
most  part,  is  covered  with  herbaceous  growth  or 
at  most  a  low  scrub  for  a  considerable  distance 
back  from  the  shore,  and  it  is  exceedingly  rich  in 
interesting  plants,  nearly  all  derived  from  the 
American  tropics.  One  has  a  glorious  sense  of 
freedom  and  comfort  here  which  he  experiences  in 
but  few  localities  in  Lower  Florida.  Just  to  the 
southeast  of  East  Cape  there  is  safe  anchorage 
against  any  ordinary  storm. 

This  great  sand  bank  is  probably  built  over  an 
old  mangrove  swamp  for  such  a  formation  lies 
immediately  behind  and  to  the  east  of  it.  The 


CAPE  SABLE  79 


giant  wall  of  mangroves  which  I  have  elsewhere 
described  adjoins  the  northern  part  of  Northwest 
Cape  and  the  water  along  the  entire  sandy  shore 
is  so  filled  with  sediment  that  it  is  unpleasant  to 
bathe  in  it.  This  sediment,  which  is  more  or  less 
mixed  with  coarser  materials,  seems  to  be  chiefly 
the  soil,  peat,  and  half  decayed  wood  from  man- 
grove swamps. 

This  beach  is  a  noted  place  for  sea  shells. 
During  the  time  of  storms  when  the  wind  blows 
landward,  quantities  of  Murex,  Fulgur,  the  Fas- 
ciolarias,  handsome  Olivas  with  their  wonderfully 
zigzagged  and  tentlike  color  patterns,  graceful 
cones,  Cancellarias  and  Bullas  among  gastropods; 
Venus,  Cardiums,  Macrocallistas  with  delicately 
painted,  polished  shells,  large  Dosinias,  as  round 
as  dollars,  beautifully  tinted  Tellinas,  among 
which  the  brilliant  crimson  T.  braziliana  is  espe- 
cially abundant;  a  large  representation  of  the 
Lucinidae  and  millions  of  Donax  or  "wedge" 
shells  together  with  many  other  forms  are  strewn 
upon  the  littoral.  The  beach  seems  to  be  a  sort 
of  headquarters  for  the  great  "angel's  wings" 
(Pholas  costatus).  This  mollusk  burrows  to  a 
depth  of  a  couple  of  feet  in  the  sand  or  mud  and, 


8o  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

for  this  reason,  is  rarely  found  alive.  But  here 
the  strong  currents,  no  doubt,  destroy  the  burrows 
and  wash  out  the  mollusk.  Its  beautiful  detached 
valves,  sometimes  eight  inches  long,  often  lie  on 
the  beach  in  ricks.  They  are  thin,  peculiarly  cor- 
rugated, and  shaped  somewhat  like  the  wings  of 
the  angels  in  old  pictures;  this  and  their  pure 
white  color  have  suggested  the  name. 

The  Pholads,  of  which  this  species  is  fairly 
typical,  are  a  large  and  diversified  family,  all  of 
which  are  borers.  Some  of  them,  like  the  present 
species,  dig  only  in  sand  or  mud;  others  excavate 
their  tunnels  in  wood  or  soft  rock,  and  some  bore 
out  their  nests  in  hard  granite.  For  a  long  time 
the  manner  of  their  working  was  a  mystery  and  by 
some  it  was  believed  that  the  boring  was  done  by 
the  edges  of  the  rough,  corrugated  shells,  but  it  is 
now  known  that  this  is  not  true.  There  is  a  set  of 
strong  muscles  attached  to  winglike  processes  out- 
side and  at  the  back  of  the  shell.  These  muscles 
can  be  powerfully  contracted  by  the  animal  so  that 
the  two  valves  or  shells  are  drawn  wide  open  and 
their  rough  surfaces  held  very  firmly  against  the 
walls  of  the  burrow.  With  the  shell  thus  held  fast 
the  animal  turns  and  twists  its  large  foot,  which 


CAPE  SABLE  81 


is  covered  with  sharp,  siliceous  spicules,  first  one 
way  and  then  the  other,  and  so  laboriously  drills 
out  the  material  in  which  it  lives.  It  is  here  I 
found  a  couple  of  specimens  of  the  exceedingly  rare 
Cancellaria  tenera,  the  shell  having  flat,  tabulated 
shoulders  like  a  miniature  stairway,  but  it  is  not 
especially  beautiful. 

Although  nearly  all  the  vegetation  and  most 
of  the  dry-land  animal  life  of  this  region  are 
tropical,  derived  in  all  probability,  as  I  have  else- 
where shown,  from  the  Upper  Keys  over  an  old 
but  now  destroyed  landway,  the  marine  forms,  on 
the  contrary,  are  largely  warm  temperate  or  at 
most  subtropical.  This  may  at  first  seem  strange 
but  the  explanation  is  simple.  The  tropical 
marine  life  of  the  keys  has  been  brought  to  them 
by  the  Gulf  Stream.  But  these  very  same  keys 
and  the  plateau  on  which  they  rest,  act  as  a  barrier 
to  the  farther  passage  of  this  life  to  the  Florida 
west  coast.  The  water  on  the  west  coast  of 
Florida  is  shallow  for  miles  out  from  the  shore  and 
the  Gulf  Stream  flows  far  to  the  westward.  This 
wide  belt  of  shallow  sea  often  becomes  quite  cold 
in  winter,  especially  in  time  of  severe  northers, 
and  is  therefore  decidedly  unfavorable  for  strictly 


82  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

tropical  marine  life.  For  this  reason  only  the 
hardier  West  Indian  species  are  found  here. 
Finally,  as  I  shall  show  in  another  chapter,  the 
marine  life  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  was  partly 
derived  from  the  cooler  part  of  the  Atlantic,  hav- 
ing migrated  around  the  southern  end  of  the 
Florida  peninsula  when  it  did  not  extend  nearly 
so  far  south  as  it  does  at  present,  probably  before 
the  keys  were  formed. 

I  have  said  that  this  splendid  beach  is  a  paradise 
for  the  naturalist  and  collector.  He  may  wander 
along  it  in  perfect  comfort,  provided  mosquitoes 
and  sand  flies  are  not  too  troublesome.  Some 
distance  back  from  the  beach  there  is  prairie 
with  scattered  scrub.  As  soon  as  one  reaches  this 
his  troubles  really  begin.  Over  most  of  it  a 
variety  of  low  thorny  bushes  and  creepers  makes 
any  progress  most  difficult,  or  even  impossible. 
One  is  continually  forced  to  turn  back  and  seek 
another  passage.  In  places  the  "poor  man's 
plaster"  (Mentzilia  floridana)  completely  covers 
the  ground  and  sprawls  over  the  scrub.  It  has 
rather  attractive  yellow  flowers  but  the  stems 
and  under  sides  of  the  lobed,  deltoid  leaves  are 
thickly  covered  with  barbed,  glandular  hairs. 


CAPE  SABLE  83 


Any  animal  or  person  coming  among  these  plants 
soon  becomes  covered  not  only  with  the  leaves 
but  with  their  brittle  stems.  Sometimes  the  entire 
plant  will  catch  hold  in  the  most  diabolical  man- 
ner and  break  off.  Other  stems  attach  them- 
selves to  those  which  are  already  being  borne 
away  by  the  intruder,  and  if  one  is  compelled  to 
be  among  them  for  some  time  the  result  may 
easily  be  imagined.  In  such  plight  one  is  re- 
minded of  that  delightful  rascal,  "Brer  Rabbit," 
who  spilled  "Brer  Bar's"  bucket  of  honey  over 
himself  and  was  obliged  to  roll  among  "de  leafs 
and  trash"  in  vain  effort  to  clean  himself.  The 
stems  may  be  pulled  off  but  it  is  utterly  im- 
possible to  scrape  the  leaves  from  one's  clothing. 
They  cling  to  the  victim's  garments  as  dirty, 
greenish  patches  until  they  finally  wear  off. 
When  well  covered  with  the  miserable  things  one 
is  certainly,  as  Uncle  Remus  remarked  about 
"Brer  Rabbit,"  "De  mos'  owdashus-lookin' 
creetur  w'at  you  ever  sot  eyes  on,"  and  one  cer- 
tainly looks  like  "de  gran'daddy  er  all  de  boog- 
gers." 

For  a  long  time  I  could  not  understand  why  the 
leaves  and  stems  of  this  plant  attach  themselves 


84  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

so  tenaciously  to  any  object  with  which  they  come 
in  contact.  Some  of  the  members  of  the  same 
family  to  which  the  Mentzilia  belongs  are  pro- 
vided with  stinging  hairs  which  serve  to  keep  the 
plants  from  being  molested,  but  the  hairs  of  this 
species  do  not  sting.  They  are  intended  merely 
to  catch  and  hold  on  to  whatever  touches  them. 
Fortunately  a  plant  of  this  species  came  up  in  my 
yard  one  spring  and  grew  with  great  vigor  during 
the  entire  season,  finally  covering  a  space  twenty 
feet  square,  scrambling  over  other  vegetation  and 
up  the  lattice  of  my  piazza.  In  the  fall  it  bloomed 
and  seeded  profusely,  thus  giving  me  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  observe  and  study  it.  I  thought 
it  possible  that  the  branches  when  dropped  might 
throw  out  roots  and  form  new  plants  as  do  those 
of  certain  Cacti.  I  tore  off  a  number  and  scat- 
tered them  in  all  kinds  of  situations,  even  putting 
a  few  in  my  slat-covered  plant  house,  but  all 
withered  and  died. 

The  club-shaped  seed  vessels  are  covered  with 
barbed  prickles  and  filled  with  pulp  containing 
a  half  dozen  rather  large,  singular-looking  seeds. 
These  are  black  and  rough,  somewhat  elongated 
and  flattened,  with  two  encircling  ridges  having 


CAPE  SABLE  85 


a  groove  between.  They  suggest  in  shape  an 
Indian  stone  ax.  The  berrylike  fruit  does  not 
open  but  remains  attached  to  the  plant  long  after  it 
is  ripe;  finally  decaying  and  allowing  the  seeds  to 
fall.  It  is  evident  that  the  barbed  hairs  of  the 
plant  have  two  functions;  they  cling  to  the  vege- 
tation over  which  the  Mentzilia  sprawls,  aiding  it 
in  climbing  and  holding  on;  when  in  fruit  they 
attach  the  leaves  and  stems  so  firmly  to  the 
passer-by  that  much  of  the  plant  along  with  its 
load  of  seed  vessels  is  torn  off  and  thus  carried  to  a 
distance.  It  is  its  method  of  dispersal.  The 
long  period  during  which  the  ripe  seed  is  con- 
tained in  the  pericarp  increases  the  chances  of  a 
carrier.  The  large  seeds  have  sufficient  vitality 
to  sprout  and  grow  vigorously  among  the  dense 
vegetation  of  the  locality  in  which  the  Mentzilia 
is  sure  to  live.  All  in  all,  it  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  plants  of  our  flora. 

Formerly  there  were  extensive  hammocks  at 
the  capes,  now  mostly  cutoff  and  the  sandy  ground 
has  been  planted  to  coconuts.  The  beautiful 
silver  palm  (Coccothrinax  jucundd)  and  another 
(Thrinax  floridana)  were  once  abundant,  though  it 
is  probable  that  they  no  longer  exist  on  the  main- 


86  /AT  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

land.  Thrinax  wendlandiana,  another  fine  palm, 
supposed  until  recently  to  belong  only  to  Cuba, 
grows  in  the  cape  region,  along  the  south  shore 
of  the  State,  and  also  on  the  keys.  Wild  cinnamon 
(Canella  winteriana) ,  saffron  plum  (Bumelia  angus- 
tifolia),  wild  dilly  (Mimusops  emarginata),  and  a 
number  of  other  trees  and  plants  belonging  to  the 
keys  are  found  here,  immigrants  over  the  old 
mainland  route  to  Metacumbe. 

What  remains  of  the  cape  hammock  is  not  lofty 
but  it  is  exceedingly  dense  and  filled  as  full  of 
thorny  growth  as  is  any  other  hammock  in  the  State. 
Of  this  thorny  growth  the  chief  plant  is  a  sprawling 
Cereus  which  I  have  abused  elsewhere  but  it  is 
sufficiently  villainous  to  call  for  more  condem- 
nation. It  is  Cereus  pentagonus.  I  cannot  con- 
ceive how  it  would  be  possible  to  devise  a  more 
devilish  plant.  It  starts  in  life  by  growing  erect, 
but  tiring  of  that  it  falls  over  and  rests  on  other 
vegetation,  or  perhaps  slides  off  and  fastens  itself 
to  the  ground  from  which  it  may  spring  up  a 
second  time.  Not  infrequently  it  almost  fills  all 
the  vacant  space  in  the  forest,  thrusting  its  long, 
lithe  stems  through  the  thickest  growth  and 
appearing  in  the  most  unexpected  places.  Its 


Ccreus  pentagonus  Filling  All  the  Spaces  in  the  Hammock 

Photo  by  Dr.  John  K.  Small 


CAPE  SABLE  87 


stems  may  be  three,  four,  or  five  angled  (the  young 
ones  sometimes  have  even  more)  and  each  angle 
is  lined  with  terrific  spines  an  inch  or  mor^in 
length.  They  are  so  sharp  and  strong  that  they 
easily  pierce  the  heaviest  leather  boot.  The  ex- 
plorer may  be  ever  so  alert  but  he  is  certain  to  run 
into  it  dozens  of  times  in  such  a  forest.  He  L 
equally  sure  to  carry  away  a  fine  collection  of  its 
thorns,  which  have  a  vicious  way  of  breaking  off 
in  his  body.  As  though  this  were  not  enough 
there  is  another  Cereus  which  is  just  about  as 
villainous  (C.  eriophoms).  It  has  about  ten  ribs 
and  nearly  round  stems.  Fortunately  it  has  one 
merit  that  the  other  does  not  possess  and  that  is 
it  is  rather  scarce.  In  much  of  the  cape  territory 
a  dwarfed  form  of  Agave  (common  on  the  keys) 
covers  the  ground,  and  it  frequently  grows  in 
company  with  a  very  spiny  Opuntia.  A  more  or 
less  ever-present  pest  among  thorns  is  our  familiar 
pull-and-haul-back  vine.  The  only  relief  from  the 
grasp  of  its  curved  spines,  after  the  preliminary 
resort  to  profanity,  is  carefully  to  cut  away  the 
entwining  vines  with  an  always  handy  and  sharp 
knife.  During  the  process  one  must  not  move  an 
inch  in  any  direction.  Everywhere  is  a  network 


88  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

of  vines — "invisible  wires"  as  Kingsley  calls 
them — to  trip  and  occasionally  throw  one  head- 
long among  the  merciless  thorns.  These  "wires" 
belong  to  a  number  of  species  of  Smilax,  all  of 
which  are  more  or  less  thorny;  a  Mikania,  related 
to  the  sunflower  family;  a  Philbertella  or  Metas- 
telma,  which  are  really  milkweeds;  one  species  of 
grape  and  a  common  morning-glory  (Ipomcea, 
cathartica) ,  which  latter  is  always  abundant  in  the 
thickets.  The  Ipomaea  has  no  spines  but  its  soft 
stems  hang  in  festoons,  or  lying  along  the  ground 
are  drawn  across  the  paths  as  taut  as  bowlines  to 
catch  the  unwary.  It  flaunts  its  gay  blue  and 
purple  flowers  everywhere  and  seems  to  take  a 
fiendish  delight  in  tripping  and  throwing  all  who 
defy  it  by  venturing  into  the  scrub. 

Formerly  the  hammocks  at  the  capes  were 
full  of  beautiful  tree  snails, — the  large  Oxystyla 
and  two  species  of  Liguus,  but  to-day  very  few  are 
left.  Among  this  remnant,  however,  there  are 
some  anomalies  of  distribution  difficult  to  under- 
stand. Liguus  fasciatus,  represented  by  several 
varieties,  is  found  at  Middle  and  East  capes  but 
not  at  Northwest  Cape,  but  five  miles  distant. 
At  the  latter  locality  it  is  replaced  by  Liguus 


-.... 


Cereits  eriophorus,  a  Villainous  Cactus  of  Lower  Florida 

Photo  by   Dr.  John  K.  Small 


CAPE  SABLE  89 


crenatus,  so  nearly  like  the  Cuban  form  of  the 
species  that  an  expert  could  not  separate  them. 
The  latter  species  is  also  found  at  Flamingo  and 
again  near  Coot  Bay  and  its  adjacent  hammocks, 
but  from  some  of  these  the  shells  have  a  different 
marking.  The  peculiar  "black  snail"  occurs  on 
Key  Vaca,  at  Middle  Cape  and  Chokoloskee  but 
has  not,  so  far  as  I  know,  been  obtained  in  any 
other  localities.  Usually  only  a  single  species  or 
subspecies  of  Liguus  is  found  in  any  of  these 
hammocks,  but  why  all  other  forms  but  one  are 
excluded  we  do  not  know. 

I  had  been  warned  repeatedly  that  anyone  who 
explored  the  Cape  Sable  or  south  shore  regions 
hazarded  his  life  by  reason  of  many  rattlesnakes. 
My  warning  included  many  of  the  keys  which  were 
supposedly  infested  with  them.  In  many  years 
of  cruising  and  tramping  over  the  lower  part  of 
the  State  I  had  never  met  a  living  rattler  or  even  a 
water  moccasin,  and  I  had  concluded  that  the 
snake  stories  were  largely  myths.  In  the  late 
autumn  of  1916,  in  company  with  Dr.  Small  and 
my  neighbors  Victor  Soar  and  Paul  Matthaus,  I 
visited  the  Cape  Sable  region,  tramping  from 
Flamingo  to  the  cape  across  the  interior  prairie. 


90  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

We  had  turned  from  the  trail  to  enter  a  little 
hammock  in  our  search  for  plants  and  snails.  I 
was  leading  with  Soar  following  when  I  heard  a 
slight  disturbance  behind;  turning  around  I  saw 
him  in  the  act  of  cutting  off  the  head  of  a  good 
sized  diamond  rattlesnake  with  his  machete.  He 
said  I  had  stepped  with  my  left  foot  close  to  its 
head  and  neck,  then  directly  over  its  body,  first 
with  the  right  and  then  with  the  left  foot.  He  had 
had  the  rare  presence  of  mind  not  to  cry  out,  for 
had  he  done  so  it  is  probable  that  I  would  have 
confusedly  stopped  and  been  bitten.  Within  ten 
feet  he  encountered  another  rattlesnake  which  was 
much  larger,  and  killed  it. 

Returning  from  the  cape  soon  after,  we  visited 
a  small  hammock  near  the  scene  of  our  morning's 
adventure.  Our  dog  began  barking  furiously  near 
by  and  then  a  snake  rattled  clear  and  strong.  I 
called  the  two  other  men  and  began  a  search  for 
the  reptile,  but  the  dog,  on  which  we  relied  for 
help,  became  frightened  and  departed  yelping. 
The  hammock  just  there  had  lately  been  burned 
off  and  had  grown  up  very  thickly  with  rank 
weeds.  After  beating  about  for  awhile  without 
success  we  concluded  further  search  in  a  dense 


CAPE  SABLE  91 


thicket  too  risky  and  reluctantly  gave  it  up. 
The  next  day  the  Doctor  found  a  very  large, 
freshly-shed  rattler  skin  at  the  cape.  Some 
people  we  met  there  told  us  never  had  rattlers 
been  so  abundant;  they  were  killing  them  every 
day. 

In  his  delightful  book,  The  Naturalist  in  La 
Plata,  Hudson  tells  of  a  "wave  of  life"  and 
says:  "Turning  back  to  1872-3,  I  find  in  my 
note  book  for  that  season  a  history  of  one  of  those 
waves  of  life — for  I  can  think  of  no  better  name 
for  the  phenomenon  in  question — that  are  of  such 
frequent  occurrence  in  thinly  settled  regions.  .  .  . 
An  exceptionally  bounteous  season,  the  accidental 
mitigation  of  a  check,  or  other  favorable  circum- 
stance, often  causes  an  increase  so  sudden  and 
inordinate  of  small,  prolific  species,  that  when  we 
actually  witness  it  we  are  no  longer  surprised  at 
the  notion  prevalent  amongst  the  common  people, 
that  mice,  frogs,  crickets,  etc.,  are  occasionally 
rained  down  from  the  clouds."  He  proceeds  to 
tell  how,  that  same  year,  owing  to  favorable  con- 
ditions, the  country  was  overrun  with  a  variety 
of  the  smaller  wild  animals,  bumblebees,  mice, 
storks,  owls,  and  other  things;  that  later  when  the 


92  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

environment  became  unfavorable  this  super- 
abundance of  life  melted  away  and  the  old  order 
was  restored.  I  believe  that  a  wave  of  rattle- 
snake life  must  have  occurred  in  the  vicinity  of 
Cape  Sable. 

It  seems  a  strange  thing  that  so  few  are  bitten 
by  rattlesnakes  and  I  can  only  conclude  that  they 
rarely  if  ever  strike  unless  actually  provoked.  I 
have  known  of  a  number  of  cases  of  snakes  almost 
stepped  on  that  refrained  from  attacking.  Noth- 
ing in  nature  can  be  more  hideous  and  terrifying 
in  appearance  than  a  large  diamond  rattlesnake, 
or  more  perfectly  fitted  to  demoralize  a  courageous 
foe. 

We  had  planned  to  visit  several  places  after 
leaving  Sable,  but  at  the  next  stop  with  the 
anchor  over  no  one  seemed  to  manifest  any  dis- 
position to  go  ashore.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
tide  was  too  low  to  land,  so  we  up  anchor  and  pro- 
ceeded on  to  Jo  Kemp's  Key.  We  did  land  there 
and  talked  with  some  fishermen,  who  confirmed 
the  snake  stories  we  had  recently  heard.  They 
admitted  they  hardly  dared  step  outside  the  paths. 
The  Doctor,  who  wore  heavy,  high  leggins,  took  a 
brief  turn  along  the  edge  of  the  hammock  but 


CAPE  SABLE  93 


didn't  venture  into  it.  He  soon  came  back  to 
the  boat  and  remarked  that  there  wasn't  any- 
thing of  interest  on  the  island  anyhow.  Then 
we  went  to  a  point  on  the  mainland  northeast  of 
Jo  Kemp's  Key  and  pottered  about  the  open 
ground  near  shore,  but  all  seemed  nervous  and 
nobody  ventured  into  the  scrub.  After  a  brief 
consultation  we  decided  to  start  for  home.  Small 
claimed  he  had  gotten  about  all  the  plants  he  had 
expected  to  find.  Of  course  it  was  ridiculous  to 
suppose  that  any  of  us  were  afraid  of  snakes  or 
that  there  were  not  the  most  urgent  of  reasons  for 
going  home.  The  urgency  of  the  reasons  is  well 
expressed  in  a  popular  song  of  a  few  years  ago 
entitled:  '"Tain't  no  disgrace  to  run  whenyo'  are 
skeered." 

At  the  time  of  my  last  visit  to  the  capes  we  saw* 
upon  nearing  the  shore,  a  solitary  man  sitting  on  a 
log.  I  talked  with  him  while  the  rest  of  our  party 
were  busy  botanizing.  He  was  powerfully  built, 
of  middle  age,  and  decidedly  intelligent.  He 
informed  me  he  was  the  keeper  of  the  big  coconut 
plantation  along  the  shore.  I  was  curious  to 
know  why  he  had  chosen  to  live  in  this  lonely  place 
and  questioned  him  accordingly.  He  said  his 


94  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

home  was  in  Ohio  and  that  for  many  years  he  had 
suffered  greatly  from  rheumatism,  becoming  finally 
so  disabled  that  he  could  scarcely  get  about. 
Then  he  determined  to  come  to  Florida  and  seek 
relief  in  a  gentler  climate.  He  had  to  be  carried 
aboard  the  train  and  to  rely  upon  the  kindness  of 
chance  acquaintances  to  help  him  on  and  off  when 
he  had  to  change  cars.  He  stopped  for  awhile  at 
St.  Petersburg  and,  feeling  better,  accepted  a  posi- 
tion as  keeper  of  this  coconut  grove.  Asked  if  he 
didn't  find  it  very  lonely, — for  his  nearest  neigh- 
bors at  Flamingo  were  fully  ten  miles  away, — 
he  said,  "Yes,  it  is  lonesome,  and  I  have  a  hard 
time  getting  along  without  anything  to  read,  but 
I  had  rather  be  in  this  wilderness  alone  and  well 
than  at  home  with  all  my  friends  and  sick."  And 
he  stood  erect  and  walked  about  very  firmly  and 
proudly  to  show  how  completely  he  was  cured. 
Verily  there  is  no  richer  possession  than  health ! 

Cape  Sable  is  indeed  a  wild,  lonely  place.  From 
north  around  by  west  to  the  south  is  the  unin- 
terrupted ocean  horizon;  to  the  southeast  a  few 
little  islets  break  the  monotony  of  an  open  sea. 
mere  dots  that  they  are  in  a  wide  expanse  of  water. 
Back  of  the  gleaming  beach  is  a  somber  forest  and 


CAPE  SABLE  95 


a  dreary  swamp.  Formerly  there  were  two  or 
three  houses  on  the  cape  but  the  last  hurricane 
destroyed  them.  During  such  storms  when  the 
wind  is  westerly  the  beach  is  fully  exposed  and  the 
sea  with  a  thousand  miles'  sweep  sometimes  rolls 
clear  over  the  capes  and  inundates  the  entire  area. 


CHAPTER  V 

THe  SovitK  SKore  of  tHe  Mainland 

A    CONSIDERABLE    part    of   the  main- 
land south  shore  of  Florida  and  of  the 
region  for  some  distance  back  from  it 
into  the  interior  is  almost  a  terra  incog- 
nita. There  are  a  few  houses  at  the  little  settle- 
,1  ment  of  Flamingo  on  the  shore  seven  or  eight 
j|  miles  from  East  Cape  Sable;  the  balance  of  the 
|l  area  is  an  uninhabited  wilderness.    Along  most 
of  the  shore  line  there  is  a  fringe  of  tall  mangroves, 
and  in  the  vicinity  of  Cuthbert  Lake  this  growth 
extends  for   several   miles   inland.    A   series  of 
rather  low  hammocks  borders  the  sea  for  some 
distance    and    back    of    these    are    buttonwood 
swamps.     There   are   two    or   three   abandoned 
shacks  on  this  hammock  land  and  occasionally  one 
sees  a  schooner  loading  buttonwood  for  fuel  for 
the  Key  West  market, — these  being  the  only  sign» 
of  human  life  one  ever  meets  in  this  lonely  region. 
96 


One  of  Florida's  New  Palms,  Acoelorraphe  wrighlii,  Hammock  at  Cuth- 
bert  Lake,  Dade  Co.,  Florida.     Stems  over  Thirty  Feet  High 

Photo  by   Dr.  John  K.  Small 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND      97 

At  the  time  of  this  writing  one  could  cross  the 
State  from  Northwest  Cape  Sable  to  Chis  Cut  on 
lower  Biscayne  Bay,  a  distance  of  fifty-five  miles, 
without  seeing  a  house. 

The  entire  territory  is  very  flat  and  probably  no 
part  of  it  rises  more  than  four  feet  above  high  tide. 
From  Cape  Sable  to  Card  Sound  the  whole  region 
is  overflowed  during  hurricanes  from  the  west  or 
southwest,  and  driftwood  is  then  washed  up  among 
the  trees  to  a  height  of  four  or  five  feet  above 
ground. 

The  shore  line  is  exceedingly  irregular,  although 
not  so  hopelessly  complicated  as  in  the  White- 
water Bay  region.  A  number  of  rather  large  bays 
enter  from  the  south,  some  with  narrow  necks, 
while  long,  bootlike  projections  of  land  reach  far 
out  into  the  sea. 

The  vegetation  of  the  hammocks  is  almost 
entirely  tropical,  being  nearly  identical  with  that 
of  the  Cape  Sable  country.  Mahogany,  Joe- 
wood,  wild  dilly,  mastic,  and  wild  cinnamon  are 
characteristic,  the  latter  being  a  beautiful  tree 
with  rich,  dark  green,  shining  leaves  which  have 
a  decidedly  peppery  taste.  One  is  constantly 
being  led  into  chewing  them  for  their  flavor  of 


98  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

cinnamon  and  getting  his  mouth  well  burnt. 
In  a  few  places  the  stately  royal  palm  is  found 
growing  luxuriantly,  and  in  some  of  the  more 
inaccessible  swamps  there  are  quantities  of  a 
Cuban  palm,  Accslorraphe  wrightii,  confined  in  the 
United  States  to  this  restricted  south  shore  region. 
It  has  fan-shaped  leaves  and  slender  stems  which 
reach  a  height  of  thirty  feet,  the  whole  growing  in 
dense  masses  possibly  fifty  feet  across.  It  is  as 
light  and  graceful  as  a  bamboo  and  is  one  of  the 
finest  ornamentals  of  Florida.  The  common 
cabbage  palmetto  (Sabal  palmetto)  is  abundant, 
probably  the  only  tree  in  the  region  that  is  not 
tropical.  The  sheathing  bases  of  its  leaves  en- 
close the  young  growing  trunk,  and  when  the 
latter  attains  full  size  the  sheathings  are  split  open. 
The  blades  of  the  old  leaves  fall,  leaving  the  re- 
mainder attached  to  the  tree,  sometimes  twenty 
feet  high.  These  old  leaf  bases  are  commonly 
called  "boots,"  and  while  they  remain  they  add 
greatly  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  tree.  One  is 
sure  to  find  a  small  botanical  garden  among  these 
boots,  for  they  provide  shelter  and  an  ideal  place 
for  the  attachment  of  epiphytes.  Around  the 
leaf  bases  is  a  thick  and  strong  network  of  fiber 


Cabbage  Palmettos  near  Punta  Gorda,  Florida 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND  99 

which  binds  and  supports  the  young  leaves,  and 
when  this  begins  to  decay  it  makes  an  admirable 
bed  for  the  roots  of  many  plants  and  also  a  very 
comfortable  home  for  many  kinds  of  insects.  A 
dozen  species  of  ferns  and  an  equal  number  of  air 
pines  may  take  lodgment  on  these  young  palmettos. 
The  serpent  fern  (Phlebodium)  and  two  species  of 
sword  fern  (Nephrolepis)  commonly  attach  them- 
selves among  the  dead  bases  of  the  palm  leaves — 
just  under  the  crown  of  living  ones,  and  the  fronds 
of  one  of  them  often  hang  down  a  couple  of  yards. 
The  seeds  of  the  strangling  fig  often  lodge  and  grow 
among  the  boots,  eventually  destroying  their 
kindly  host.  Several  orchids  also  flourish  in  this 
little  air  garden,  especially  the  pretty  Epidendrum 
tampense. 

If  the  young  palmetto  is  a  botanical  garden  it 
may  with  equal  propriety  be  called  a  zoological 
park.  The  shelter  afforded,  the  decaying  vegeta- 
tion, and  the  wealth  of  plant  life  about  the  boots 
combine  to  make  the  tree  an  ideal  spot  for  a 
menagerie  of  small  life.  Tear  off  a  boot  and  a 
swarm  of  great  brown  ants  is  sure  to  rush  out  and 
attack  the  despoiler,  biting  severely;  they  may  be 
accompanied  by  a  minute  black  species  whose  bite 


ioo  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

is  even  more  painful.  In  such  station  one  will 
find  many  beetles  and  an  occasional  myriopod. 
If  not  watchful  one  is  likely  to  be  stung  by  a 
scorpion.  There  is  almost  certain  to  be  a  speci- 
men or  two  of  the  hideous  vinagerone  or  whip 
scorpion  ( Thelyphonus  giganteus) ; — ' '  scruncher ' ' 
as  it  is  called  by  the  natives.  It  is  two  and  a  half 
inches  long,  of  a  lurid,  dark  brown  color,  with  two 
immense  palpi  or  nippers,  a  long  rounded  abdomen, 
ending  in  an  extended  lashlike  telson.  No  regular 
scorpion  presents  so  dreadful  an  appearance  and  it 
is  little  wonder  it  is  so  feared.  Many  insist  that 
its  sting  is  fatal.  An  old  darkey  of  the  Uncle 
Remus  type  whom  I  knew  lived  in  constant  ter- 
ror of  them.  "Man,  suh,"  he  once  said,  "dat's 
de  mos'  owdashus  beas'  in  de  whole  worl',  an'  ef 
ever  he  hit  yo  a  lick  wid  dat  tail  o'  his'n  yo  shuah 
'miff  a  goner."  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Blatchley  and  other  naturalists  declare  that  this 
Arachnid  is  absolutely  harmless  I  prefer  to  let 
someone  else  examine  it.  A  great  wingless  cock- 
roach with  a  very  strong  odor  (Eurycotes  ingens?) 
is  generally  abundant,  and  a  curious  Arachnid  of  a 
dark  brown  color,  resembling  a  small  crab,  is 
occasionally  seen.  The  red-headed  lizard  (Eu- 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND    101 

nieces  fasciatus)  darts  rapidly  about  in  search  of 
insects.  When  young  his  tail  is  blue;  when  old 
this  color  fades  and  his  head  becomes  red.  Another 
reptilian  member  of  this  miniature  zoo  is  a  hand- 
some green  "chameleon"  (Anolis  carolinensis) 
which  leaps  and  scurries  about  among  the  boots. 
Several  spiders  spin  their  webs  in  the  palmetto, 
attracted  by  the  harvest  of  insects.  One  of  the 
wood  rats,  probably  Rattus  alexandrinus  (an 
importation  from  North  Africa),  sometimes  makes 
its  nest  in  the  great  leafy  crown  or  among  the  asso- 
ciated vines  and  rubbish.  A  very  slender  and 
beautiful  green  snake  (Leptophys?)  glides  swiftly 
and  securely  among  the  tangled  mass  of  greenery 
and  a  much  larger  brownish  one  sometimes  stares 
at  one  from  his  home  in  the  tree  top. 

When  the  palmetto  blooms  there  assembles 
about  it  a  convention  of  flying,  honey-loving 
insects,  butterflies,  moths,  wasps,  hornets,  and 
bees,  all  eager  to  share  in  the  crop  of  luscious 
honey  or  in  some  cases  to  prey  upon  each  other. 
This  insect  gathering  brings  many  birds  to  feed 
upon  them.  Among  the  honey  seekers  there  may 
be  one  or  two  species  of  a  slender- winged  insect 
of  a  deep,  steely  blue  with  white  spots  and  with  a 


102  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

rather  swollen  abdomen.  I  long  took  them  for 
wasps  and  no  doubt  the  birds  are  so  deceived. 
On  closer  examination  they  prove  to  be  diurnal 
moths,  belonging,  perhaps,  to  the  family  ^Eger- 
idae.  They  are  among  the  most  attractive  insects 
of  Lower  Florida.  We  certainly  have  no  other 
tree  that  is  the  home  and  resort  of  such  a  wealth 
of  life  as  is  the  cabbage  palmetto. 

At  some  distance  south  of  the  mainland  is  the 
chain  of  Florida  keys  which  gradually  approaches 
as  it  bends  to  the  northward  and  between  the  two 
lies  the  Bay  of  Florida.  The  bay  is  studded  with 
low,  mangrove-covered  islets,  and  over  many 
square  miles  the  tide  scarcely  ebbs  and  flows. 
When  an  easterly  wind  blows  strongly  much  of 
the  bottom  may  be  uncovered  even  for  days  at  a 
time.  Everywhere  along  the  mainland  shore  and 
for  some  distance  out  the  bottom  is  of  an  impal- 
pable white  marl  resting  on  a  foundation  of  lime- 
stone a  few  feet  below.  It  is  certainly  the  softest 
and  stickiest  stuff  in  the  whole  world.  It  varies 
in  its  consistency  from  milk  to  a  thick  paste. 

In  times  of  storm  this  white  mud  is  stirred  up 
from  the  bottom  and  mixes  with  the  water  until 
the  whole  is  a  sort  of  dirty  greenish  white,  often 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND  103 

retaining  this  color  for  days.  Drew  has  found  in 
tropical  waters  denitrifying  bacteria  that  in  their 
life  economy  transform  certain  soluble  calcium 
salts  to  the  insoluble  calcium  carbonates,  precipi- 
tating the  latter  in  the  form  of  minute  granules. 
These  bacteria  are  especially  abundant  in  the 
Bahaman  and  South  Floridian  waters.  This  is 
partially  the  cause  of  much  of  the  milkiness  of  the 
water  of  this  region  and  accounts  for  the  origin  of 
the  soft  oolitic  mud  found  throughout  Hawk  Chan- 
nel and  all  our  shallow  bays.  Year  in  and  year  out 
these  bacteria  are  changing  a  part  of  the  liquid  sea 
water  into  a  solid  which  is  being  added  to  the  land. 
All  the  hammocks  along  the  south  shore  have  this 
marl  for  a  foundation ;  their  upper  soil  being  only  a 
thin  layer  of  mold.  It  is  refreshing  to  find  a  new 
bacteria  that  does  good  instead  of  evil. 

Several  years  ago  I  visited  Flamingo  in  No- 
vember for  the  purpose  of  making  natural  history 
collections.  The  edge  of  a  hurricane  had  passed 
over  the  region  shortly  before  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  higher  hammocks,  the  country  was 
covered  with  water, — in  places  to  the  depth  of 
two  feet.  We  had  several  partly  cloudy,  showery 
days  and  the  mosquitoes  swarmed  everywhere  to 


104  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

an  extent  that  I  have  never  seen  before  or  since. 
In  company  with  a  Mr.  Roberts,  long  a  resident 
of  the  south  shore,  and  two  other  men  staying  at 
Flamingo,  our  party  started  afoot  for  Coot  Bay, 
an  arm  of  White  Water  Bay,  about  six  miles  in- 
land. We  passed  through  low  inundated  prairies 
and  hammocks  with  here  and  there  a  higher  spot 
cleared  and  planted  in  sugar  cane.  The  soil  is 
wonderfully  rich  and  where  the  cane  had  not 
been  killed  by  the  overflow  it  was  rank  and  fine. 

In  one  of  the  hammocks  we  found  the  papaw 
(Carica  papaya)  growing  abundantly  as  an  under- 
growth in  the  tall  forest.  I  have  never  seen  it  so 
fine  and  vigorous,  even  in  the  tropics.  The  plants 
have  perfectly  straight  trunks,  smooth  in  the  lower 
part,  often  as  large  as  a  man's  body  and  fully 
twenty  feet  high.  For  a  space  of  several  feet  the 
upper  part  of  the  stem  is  clothed  with  leaves, 
these  having  straight  petioles  three  or  four  feet 
long  which,  after  shedding,  leave  peculiar  orna- 
mental scars  on  the  trunk.  The  great  palmate 
blades  are  more  than  three  feet  across,  forming  a 
beautiful  crown  extending  well  down  the  tree.  At 
the  bases  of  the  petioles  were  the  yellow  flowers 
The  tree  is  dioecious  in  most  cases  and  the  male 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND  105 

blossoms  are  borne  on  slender,  branching  stems 
while  the  larger  female  flowers  are  nearly  sessile. 
The  latter  develop  into  roundish  fruits  a  couple 
of  inches  in  diameter  which  are  crowded  on  the 
stem  for  several  feet.  The  outer  part  of  the  trunk 
has  considerable  fiber  but  within  this  is  merely 
hardened  pulp.  The  stem  is  ordinarily  un- 
branched,  but  if  the  growing  bud  is  injured  it 
sometimes  divides  into  two  or  more  limbs.  In  a 
wild  state  the  fruit  is  small  and  insipid  but  when 
cultivated  and  carefully  selected  it  becomes  at 
times  as  large  as  a  muskmelon  and  of  delicious 
flavor.  Sometimes  male  trees  produce  peculiar, 
slender  fruits  the  seeds  of  which  are  fertile.  Wild 
or  cultivated  the  tree  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  striking  objects  of  the  tropics.  It  grows  in 
Florida  from  the  Indian  River  on  the  east  and 
Tampa  Bay  on  the  west,  to  the  extreme  lower  part 
of  the  State.  Bartram  tells  of  his  joy  and  aston- 
ishment at  seeing  this  tree  growing  wild  on  the 
banks  of  the  St.  John's  River  just  south  of  Lake 
George,  but  it  probably  does  not  now  grow  so 
far  north.  In  this  connection  Sir  Charles  Lyell 
gives  an  account  of  immense  orange  trees  ninety 
years  old  on  the  lower  Altamaha  River  and  others 


106  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old  at  St.  Augustine! 
These  ancient  trees  were  killed  in  1835  by  perhaps 
the  severest  cold  ever  recorded  in  Florida.  Since 
then  there  have  been  such  repeated  cold  spells 
and  at  such  short  intervals  that  many  of  the  more 
tender  plants  have  never  recovered. 

At  the  point  where  we  visited  Coot  Bay  the 
shore  was  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  button- 
wood.  In  this  low,  swampy  thicket  Mr.  Roberts 
showed  me  the  ruins  of  a  shack  built  and  occupied 
by  the  late  J.  E.  Layne,  a  young  man  of  much 
ability,  who  devoted  his  life  to  collecting  the  plants 
of  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State.  The 
wretched  little  hovel  could  not  have  been  more 
than  ten  feet  square;  it  was  made  of  poles  and  only 
a  couple  of  feet  above  the  mud  and  water.  Here, 
alone,  in  this  desolate  place,  tormented  with  in- 
sects, he  did  excellent  work  as  a  collector  and 
botanist.  Why  did  he  abandon  civilization  and 
become  a  hermit;  was  it  trouble  or  desire  for  dis- 
covery? He  died  from  exposure  and  the  want  of 
proper  care, — a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  science. 

In  a  low  hammock  we  found  an  abundance  of 
the  superb  epiphytal  orchid  Oncidium  luridum, 
with  heavy,  broad,  folded  leaves,  often  three  feet 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND    107 

long.  Its  branching  flower  spikes  occasionally 
reach  a  length  of  ten  feet.  The  hundreds  of 
rather  large  flowers  in  the  clusters  are  greenish 
yellow  barred  with  brown-red.  With  it  grew 
another  interesting  orchid,  Epidendrum  anceps, 
which  we  had  never  found  elsewhere. 

My  face  was  badly  swollen  from  too  many 
mosquito  bites.  The  insects  covered  the  exposed 
parts  of  my  body  until  the  skin  could  not  be  seen, 
and  when  I  wiped  them  off  the  blood  dripped  on 
the  ground.  With  puffed  cheeks  and  eyelids  I 
could  scarcely  see  and,  thoroughly  poisoned,  I  felt 
stupid  with  desire  to  lie  down  anywhere  and 
sleep.  One  of  my  companions,  Mr.  John  Soar, 
began  to  be  ill  from  the  same  cause  though  his  face 
did  not  swell.  His  exposed  skin  turned  fiery  red 
and  he  seemed  to  be  in  a  serious  condition.  About 
that  time  Mr.  Roberts  found  some  wild  limes,  the 
juice  of  which  he  applied  to  the  afflicted  parts, 
relieving  them  almost  instantly.  There  are  well- 
authenticated  instances  in  Florida  and  elsewhere 
of  death  occurring  from  the  attacks  of  mosquitoes. 
The  victim  becomes  semi-torpid  from  the  poison 
and  lies  down  to  sleep — his  last  sleep. 

On  another  occasion  in  company  with  Mr.  Soar 


i o8  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

I  visited  Madeira  Bay,  one  of  the  small  gulfs  on 
the  south  coast  about  twenty  miles  east  of  Fla- 
mingo. On  account  of  shallow  water  we  anchored 
our  launch  outside  the  narrow  neck  and  attempted 
an  entrance  with  a  skiff,  but  we  were  soon  aground 
and  had  to  get  overboard  and  push, — as  usual. 
At  every  step  we  sank  deep  in  the  soft  mud  but 
after  about  a  mile  of  it  we  found  deeper  water  and 
pulled  to  the  opposite  shore,  where  we  found  the 
Cuban  palm  (Accdorraphe  wrightii]  in  considerable 
numbers.  We  then  poled  up  a  creek  near  the 
east  end  of  the  gulf  and  entered  a  large  lagoon, 
and  beyond  that  a  second  smaller  one.  Turning 
back  towards  evening  we  started  for  the  launch. 
Soar  thought  that  by  hugging  the  shore  we  would 
find  deeper  water,  but  soon  it  shoaled  to  an  inch. 
We  had  been  all  day  without  food  or  water  and 
were  so  thoroughly  exhausted  that  after  pushing 
the  boat  but  two  or  three  rods  we  had  to  rest  on 
the  gunwale, — "all  in."  Finally  in  the  night  we 
reached  the  launch,  threw  ourselves  upon  the 
bottom,  and  supperless  slept  until  the  sun  was 
well  up  in  the  sky. 

On  still  another  occasion  I  went  with  a  party 
to  obtain  specimens  of  the  Cuban  palm  for  plant- 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND    109 

ing.  At  Flamingo  we  hired  one  John  Douthett 
to  act  as  guide  and  to  furnish  a  shallow  draft 
gasolene  launch.  On  account  of  shoal  water  we 
anchored  near  Jo  Kemp's  Key,  making  the  bal- 
ance of  the  trip  in  our  skiffs.  From  the  key  we 
had  a  nine  mile  run  in  water  nowhere  more  than 
two  feet  deep  and  most  of  the  way  we  dragged  the 
bottom.  Here  we  saw  no  end  of  birds,  particularly 
white  and  brown  pelicans  and  Florida  cormorants. 
The  first  of  these  swim  along  and  scoop  up  fish 
while  the  second  fly  in  circles  and  swoop  down  on 
their  prey. 

In  about  two  hours  we  entered  the  mouth  of  a 
creek  near  the  head  of  an  unnamed  bay.  A  half 
mile  up  the  stream  we  entered  a  considerable  la- 
goon which  we  passed  through  and  then  passed 
into  the  same  or  another  channel,  for  in  this  region 
there  is  an  interminable  maze  of  brackish  lakes 
and  passages.  The  latter  are  crooked  and  difficult 
to  navigate  but  we  pushed  on  first  northeast,  then 
north,  northwest,  southwest,  then  abruptly  to  the 
northward  to  Cuthbert  Lake,  some  nine  miles 
from  where  we  first  entered  the  creek. 

The  whole  trip  was  novel  and  exciting.  No  less- 
than  six  lakes,  each  concealed  from  the  rest  by 


i  io  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

dense  growth  of  littoral  forest,  were  crossed  before 
we  reached  our  destination,  and  several  times 
Douthett  got  into  the  wrong  channel.  I  cannot 
understand  how  anyone  first  could  have  found  his 
way  through  this  labyrinth  or,  once  accomplished, 
ever  follow  it  again. 

Over  the  channels  great  mangroves  arch,  dim- 
ming the  sun's  glare  to  soft  twilight  beneath. 
Air  roots  everywhere  descend  into  the  channels 
so  completely  obstructing  the  passage  that  we 
had  frequently  to  chop  our  way  through.  Im- 
mense orchids  (Cyrtopodium  punctatum)  were  in 
bloom  among  the  trees,  and  a  world  of  air  pines 
and  Catopsis  cling  to  the  branches.  On  the 
ground  are  gigantic  ferns  (Acrostichum),  forming 
the  densest  thickets,  and  a  monster  vine  (Ecasto- 
phyllum)  sprawls  over  everything.  Here  and 
there  a  great  courida  (Avicennia)  towers  above 
the  mangroves;  the  ground  beneath  being  thickly 
covered  with  erect  quills  or  pneumatophores,  the 
curious  growth  from  the  roots  of  this  tree. 

One  of  the  anomalies  of  this  general  region  is 
the  cacti.  We  usually  associate  such  plants  with 
desert  or  semi-arid  places  but  along  this  southern 
shore  one  or  more  Opuntias  and  two  species  of 


Great  Orchid,  Cyrtopodium  punctatum  in  bloom  at  Snake  Hammock  near 

Coot  Bay,  Florida.     Plant  Had  Thirty-one  Flower  Stems  over  Four 

Feet  Long,  with  Perhaps  a  Thousand  Blossoms 

Photo  by   Dr.  John  K.  Small 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND  in 

Cereus  grow  profusely  in  damp  or  even  muddy 
situations  where  an  unusually  high  tide  may  cover 
their  roots.  In  fact  it  seems  that  these  desert- 
loving  plants  are  attempting  to  become  aquatics. 
Along  our  strange  course  where  the  ground  be- 
comes too  swampy  they  grow  as  epiphytes,  attach- 
ing their  roots  well  up  on  the  trunks  of  living  or 
dead  trees. 

Douthett's  propeller  had  only  one  blade  and  it 
revolved  at  a  terrific  rate.  How  it  survived  the 
trip  we  could  not  understand,  for  it  struck  the 
rocky  bottom  every  revolution  for  long  distances, 
and  we  navigated  through  a  tangle  of  sunken  logs, 
branches,  and  chopped-off  mangrove  roots.  As 
we  proceeded  the  channel  became  narrower  and 
more  clogged  and  often  we  were  obliged  to  get  out 
and  lift  the  boats  over  sunken  timber,  or  depress 
the  bows  to  get  them  under  a  log,  then  all  get  in  the 
stern  and  shove.  For  considerable  distances  we 
were  compelled  to  lie  in  the  bottom  of  the  boats  to 
avoid  the  low  branches  and  air  roots  which  hung 
about  everywhere.  At  one  in  the  afternoon  we 
entered  Cuthbert  Lake,  a  nearly  circular  body  of 
brackish  water  a  mile  across.  We  found  patches 
of  the  palm  we  sought  and  at  once  set  to  work 


ii2  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

grubbing  up  and  loading  them  on  the  boats.  Im- 
mense numbers  of  a  large  white  bird  in  the  lake 
continually  uttered  a  harsh  croaking  call, — prob- 
ably the  white  ibis  (Gaura  alba). 

This  locality  is  one  of  the  last  resorts  of  some  of 
our  most  beautiful  and  interesting  wading  birds. 
Here  in  days  gone  by  resorted  vast  numbers  of 
gorgeous  flamingos,  scarlet  ibises,  roseate  spoon- 
bills, and  roseate  terns.  This  was  one  of  the  chief 
breeding  places  of  the  ethereally  beautiful  egret 
(Herodias  egretta)  and  the  even  more  perfect 
snowy  heron  (Egretta  candidissima) .  Owing  to 
woman's  vanity  and  man's  greed  they  are  now 
well-nigh  exterminated.  The  men  who  raid  these 
heronries  are  toughs  and  outlaws,  and  there  is  not 
one  of  them  to-day  who  does  not  gloat  with  sat- 
isfaction over  the  foul  murder  of  the  faithful 
game  warden,  Warren  Bradley,  who  was  shot 
down  by  their  gang  while  trying  to  preserve  these 
birds. 

This  entire  region  (which  is  of  little  value  for 
anything  else)  should  be  set  apart  by  the  federal 
government  as  a  great  bird  reservation,  but  even 
then  it  would  be  difficult  enough  to  protect  the 
birds  within  it,  for  the  same  men  who  killed 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND    113 

Bradley  would  not  hesitate  to  do  the  same  by  any 
other  warden. 

Towards  evening  we  finished  with  our  palms  and 
started  on  our  homeward  trip,  which,  by  reason 
of  the  load,  was  more  difficult  than  the  up  journey. 
It  was  after  sundown  when  we  reached  the  bay 
and  then  engine  trouble  beset  us.  We  cranked 
and  talked  to  it  in  vain  and  at  last  giving  up  we 
settled  down  to  spend  a  miserable  night  in  the 
crowded  little  launch  and  its  tow.  A  cold  wind 
arose  from  the  northwest  and  the  sky  was  overcast 
with  ominous  clouds.  We  were  exhausted,  wet, 
and  hungry,  as  we  had  had  no  food  since  morning. 
No  doubt  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  I  was  much 
the  oldest  of  the  party  I  suffered  greatly  with  the 
cold.  I  asked  Douthett  how  far  he  thought  it  was 
to  our  larger  launch  and  he  said  it  was  probably  a 
couple  of  miles.  Then  I  asked  if  he  had  any  idea 
which  way  it  was  and  after  standing  up  and  look- 
ing around  for  some  time  he  pointed  and  said:  "I 
think  it  is  off  there." 

I  tried  to  get  the  men  to  pole  but  they  doubted 
if  we  could  find  our  boat  and  were  disinclined  to 
make  the  effort.  At  last  to  warm  my  chilled 
body  I  commenced  poling.  Later  Douthett  joined 


ii4  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

me  and  in  an  hour  we  distinguished  a  blur  on  the 
water  ahead  which  proved  to  be  a  launch  and  the 
boys  set  up  a  cheer.  When  we  came  to  it  we 
found  to  our  disgust  it  wasn't  ours.  We  aroused 
the  inmates,  who  were  naturally  a  little  peevish 
at  being  disturbed  in  their  sleep  by  so  unpre- 
possessing an  outfit.  So  we  began  the  search  all 
over  again  and  at  last — joyful  sight! — our  own 
boat.  Never  before  was  sleep  so  sweet  or  better 
earned. 

Why  should  an  old  man,  past  the  age  when 
most  persons  seek  adventure,  leave  a  comfortable 
home  and  plunge  into  the  wilderness  to  endure 
such  hardships?  What  rewards  can  he  receive 
for  it?  I  never  return  utterly  worn  out  from  such 
a  trip  but  that  I  vow  it  is  the  last.  But  in  time 
the  hardships  are  forgotten  and  recollections  of 
the  pleasant  features  only  remain  and  I  am  ready 
to  start  again.  There  is  in  all  this  a  sort  of  fas- 
cination not  easy  to  explain — the  relief  that  comes 
from  being  away  from  all  the  restraints  and  arti- 
ficialities of  communal  life — and  then,  the  "  call  of 
the  wild."  There  is  a  wonderful  inspiration  in  the 
great  out  of  doors.  Everyone  feels  it, — some  more, 
some  less.  Personally  I  cannot  resist  the  call  and 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND    115 

must  respond  when  I  hear  it  and  understand  its 
meaning. 

There  is  upon  these  outings  the  cherished 
comradeship  of  one's  fellow-naturalists.  One 
never  really  knows  a  man  until  he  has  gone  out 
with  him  on  a  cruise  or  a  long  tramp.  If  there  is 
any  little  meanness  or  petty  selfishness  in  his 
make-up  it  will  then  crop  out.  If  he  is  a  clean 
man  the  fact  will  be  proven  by  hardships  of  the 
road.  I  have  been  especially  fortunate  in  my 
companions  on  many  such  rough  trips  and  how 
often  have  I  been  surprised  by  their  kindness  and 
self-denial.  My  memories  of  these  trips,  of  the 
dear  companionship,  of  stories  told  around  camp 
fires  and  on  deck  are  easily  my  most  cherished 
possession. 

It  was  in  the  wilds  that  Humboldt,  Darwin, 
Wallace,  Bates,  Spruce,  and  the  splendid  company 
of  the  earlier  and  greater  naturalists  studied  and 
worshiped  Nature.  They  were  interested  in  every 
phase  and  detail  of  it;  their  contact  with  it  made 
them  broad  and  big  and  able  to  see  the  great  truths. 
There  are  many  specialists  who  study  intensively 
some  small  group  of  animals  or  plants  until  they 
know  more  about  it  than  anyone  else,  but  they 


ii6  IN  LOWER.  FLORIDA  WILDS 

have  too  little  general  scientific  knowledge,  and 
they  care  too  little  for  the  great  scheme  of  nature. 
In  fact  they  are  too  little.  They  may  slave  on 
the  anatomy  or  heredity  of  a  few  things  but  they 
neglect  the  larger  questions  of  environment  and 
distribution.  They  are  closet  students, — scien- 
tists, not  naturalists;  their  whole  occupation  is 
business,  they  find  neither  beauty  nor  charm  in  it. 
They  dig  in  a  tunnel  and  see  nature  through  a 
pinhole. 

One  of  these  scientists,  a  man  well  known  as  a 
distinguished  expert  in  his  specialty,  once  aston- 
ished me  by  saying :  "All  this  talk  about  the  beauty 
and  harmony  of  nature  is  nothing  but  pure  bosh ! 
I  do  my  work  and  make  investigations  as  a  lawyer 
would  on  a  case ;  it  is  simply  business.  I  do  it  to 
win  my  suit,  to  succeed,  to  make  a  reputation." 

I  do  not  want  to  investigate  nature  as  though  I 
were  solving  a  problem  in  mathematics.  I  want 
none  of  the  element  of  business  to  enter  into  any  of 
my  relations  with  it.  I  am  not  and  cannot  be  a 
scientific  attorney.  In  my  attempts  to  unravel  its 
mysteries  I  have  a  sense  of  reverence  and  devotion, 
I  feel  as  if  I  were  on  enchanted  ground.  And 
whenever  any  of  its  mysteries  are  revealed  to  me 


SOUTH  SHORE  OF  THE  MAINLAND    117 

I  have  a  feeling  of  elation — I  was  about  to  say 
exaltation,  just  as  though  the  birds  or  the  trees 
had  told  me  their  secrets  and  I  had  understood 
their  language — and  Nature  herself  had  made  me 
a  confidant. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THe  Everglades 

IT  is  quite  probable  that  the  creation  of  the 
Everglades  was  one  of  the  last  acts  in  the 
completion  of  the  land  now  forming  the  State 
of  Florida;  in  fact  the  process  of  construction 
appears  still  to  be  actively  going  on.     It  is  esti- 
mated that  the  region  contains  about  5000  square 
miles,  but  the  latest  investigations  slightly  reduce 
this  figure.     It  about  equals  the  area  of  Connec- 
ticut though  its  borders  are  so  vague  and  uncertain 
that  no  survey  could  precisely  determine  its  limits. 
Samuel  Sanford,  who  has  carefully  studied  the 
geology  of  South  Florida,  says:  "A  difference  of 
two  feet  in  water  level  means  the  difference  be- 
tween shallow  lake  and  dry  land  for  hundreds  of 
square  miles." 

The  popular  idea  of  the  "The  Glades"  (so  the 
Floridians  generally  call  them)  as  a  great  basin  is 
erroneous.  At  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Okeecho- 

118 


THE  EVERGLADES  119 

bee,  which  for  a  distance  is  the  northern  limit  of 
the  Everglades,  the  land  is  elevated  twenty  feet 
above  sea  level.  From  the  lake  it  gradually 
slopes  southwesterly  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  also 
southerly  to  the  Bay  of  Florida,  and  finally  south- 
easterly to  the  Florida  Strait.  Muck,  peat,  and  sand 
form  most  of  the  normal  surface  of  the  great  swamp 
and  these  rest  on  a  foundation  of  soft  limestone. 
For  ages  the  rains  have  been  dissolving  this  rock, 
forming  pools  which  afterwards  became  ponds 
and  lakes.  A  rank  growth  of  herbaceous  vegeta- 
tion has  occupied  these  basins  and  in  decaying 
has  slowly  filled  them  with  muck  and  peat.  The 
region  about  Okeechobee  was  elevated  long  before 
that  farther  south,  hence  the  lake  or  pond  basins 
of  that  area  with  a  longer  time  for  the  process  were 
dissolved  out  to  greater  depths,  and  became  more 
or  less  filled  with  vegetable  deposits.  Lakes  Flirt 
and  Hicpochee  are  nearly  silted  to  the  water  level 
and  were  once,  most  likely,  a  part  of  the  great  lake. 
The  southern  part  of  the  Glades  was  recently 
elevated  and  there  has  not  been  sufficient  time  as 
yet  to  dissolve  out  any  considerable  basins,  or  to 
form  any  great  depth  of  vegetable  deposits.  In 
fact  the  rock  appears  on  the  surface  over  extensive 


120  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

areas  in  the  newer  part  of  the  great  swamp.  In 
this  connection  the  settlers  make  a  distinction 
founded  on  the  depth  of  muck,  and  speak  of  the 
"Upper  Glades"  and  "Lower  Glades."  In  the 
upper  (northern)  part  of  the  swamp  the  saw  grass 
is  much  more  dense  than  elsewhere  and  it  is  said 
that  the  Seminoles  never  attempt  to  cross  that 
section. 

Whenever  Okeechobee  becomes  filled  to  over- 
flowing the  surplus  water  pours  out  and  over  the 
Glades.  The  dense  growth  of  saw  grass  and  other 
herbaceous  vegetation  prevents  it  from  running 
rapidly  to  the  sea  although  there  is  a  gradual  fall 
all  the  way.  For  this  reason  most  of  the  region 
becomes  covered  with  water  which  moves  slowly 
seaward.  When  the  water  of  Okeechobee  is  con- 
fined within  the  lake  the  water  slowly  drains  off 
and  the  glades  may  become  dry.  The  decaying 
vegetation  around  the  border  of  the  lakes  has 
slowly  built  up  the  land.  The  outflowing  water 
has  deposited  a  considerable  amount  of  silt  at  the 
rim,  still  further  assisting  in  the  land  building.  It 
may  seem  strange  that  two  such  causes  should 
actually  raise  the  level  of  these  large  bodies  of 
water,  but  before  drainage  operations  were  begun, 


Upper  View.     Edge  of  Everglades  along  Tamiami  Trail 

Lower  View.     Everglades  near  Paradise  Key 

Photo  by  Wilson  Popenoe 


THE  EVERGLADES  121 

their  surfaces  were  several  feet  higher  than  when 
first  formed. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  the  large  lake  and  the 
Everglades  are  partly  supplied  with  water  by  sub- 
terranean streams  coming  from  the  Appalachian 
region.  The  fact  that  powerful  springs  often 
gush  forth  from  ditches  in  the  Glades  lends  color 
to  the  assertion,  but  I  do  not  believe  it  true. 
During  1915  and  1916  there  was  a  considerable 
shortage  of  rainfall  in  the  Everglade  region  and 
this  loss,  further  increased  by  water  taken  from 
the  lake  by  three  canals,  so  lowered  the  level  that 
perhaps  a  hundred  square  miles  of  its  western  and 
southern  part  were  laid  bare  and  no  water  at  all 
could  be  found  over  the  general  surface  of  the 
great  swamp.  Had  there  been  a  subterranean 
flow  the  results  of  a  local  drought  would  have  been 
less  pronounced. 

The  flora  of  the  Everglades  includes  a  number  of 
gigantic  herbaceous  plants,  and  of  first  importance 
among  these  is  the  "saw  grass  "  (Cladium  effusum), 
which  is  perhaps  the  most  characteristic  growth  of 
the  region.  It  is  not  really  a  grass  at  all  but  a 
member  of  the  sedge  or  bullrush  family  and  only 
distantly  related  to  the  true  grasses.  It  has  long, 


122  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

grasslike,  folded  leaves  which  spring  in  a  great 
tuft  from  the  root  and  the  slender  leaves  are  armed 
on  their  edges  with  sharp  teeth  like  those  of  a  rip 
saw.  And  a  veritable  rip  saw  it  is,  as  anyone  who 
once  comes  in  contact  with  it  will  agree.  These 
leaves  attain  a  length  of  seven  feet,  and  in  late 
spring  or  early  summer  the  plant  sends  up  a  nearly 
round  flower  stem  to  a  height  of  ten  feet  or  more. 
This  stem  is  protected  with  a  bodyguard  of  these 
savage  leaves  gathered  about  it.  It  has  many 
panicles  of  brownish  flowers  and  when  viewed 
from  a  distance  a  stretch  of  it  is  an  attractive 
sight,  but  it  is  just  as  well  to  see  it  only  from  a 
distance.  Willoughby  and  others  who  have 
crossed  the  Glades  give  graphic  pictures  of  their 
v  bloody  battles  with  this  merciless  sedge. 

One  of  the  most  striking  and  interesting  of 
these  large  plants  is  the  "gama  grass"  (Tripsacum 
dactyloides)  which  is  sometimes  cultivated  for 
ornament.  It  has  broad,  fine  leaves  and  reaches 
a  height  of  twelve  feet  or  more — the  long  flower- 
ing stems  have  the  seeds  hidden  in  excavations 
along  their  sides.  There  is  a  giant  foxtail  (Setaria 
magna),  a  brother  of  the  cultivated  millet,  which 
seems  to  be  rapidly  spreading  through  the  drier 


THE  EVERGLADES  123 

parts  of  the  Everglades.  The  common  name  of 
this  plant  is  from  the  striking  resemblance  of  its 
long,  hairy  flower  heads  to  the  tail  of  a  fox.  This 
species  attains  a  height  of  quite  fifteen  feet  and 
its  immense  heads  are  often  two  inches  in  diame- 
ter and  as  many  feet  long.  I  have  elsewhere 
mentioned  the  Phragmites  or  common  reed,  hol- 
low stems  of  which  are  used  for  plant  stakes  and 
a  variety  of  other  purposes.  It  is  abundant  in 
places.  Often  associated  with  it  is  a  boneset 
which  grows  ten  feet  high  and  also  the  elegant 
Thalia  with  its  attractive  purple  flowers  held 
aloft.  In  suitable  stations  there  is  an  exaggerated 
bullrush  (Scirpus  validus)  fully  fifteen  feet  high, 
with  stems  a  generous  inch  in  diameter. 

An  immense  weed  belonging  to  the  Amaranth 
family  seems  to  be  spreading  over  the  recently 
drained  parts  of  the  swamp.  It  is  the  water  hemp 
(Acnida  australis)  and  it  frequently  attains  a  stem 
diameter  of  more  than  a  foot  and  a  height  of 
twenty  feet;  yet  this  gigantic  plant  is  an  annual 
and  makes  its  astonishing  growth  in  a  single 
summer.  In  places  it  densely  covers  large  tracts, 
and  at  a  little  distance  may  easily  be  mistaken 
for  real  forest.  Its  great  trunk,  however,  is  little 


I24  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

more  than  water  and  some  fiber.  At  Okeechobee  I 
saw  a  man  throw  a  sharpened  lath  at  the  stem  of 
one  of  the  largest  of  these  plants  and  drive  it  clear 
through  so  that  the  point  projected  on  the  other 
side.  One  can  hardly  understand  why  so  flimsy  a 
stem  is  not  broken  and  overthrown  by  the  wind, 
especially  since  it  chooses  the  most  exposed  station. 

Wonderful  as  is  the  growth  of  the  water  hemp  it 
is  completely  outdone  by  that  of  another  native 
plant,  Agave  neglecta,  which  lives  in  the  pinelands 
along  the  border  of  the  Everglades.  It  requires 
five  or  six  years  for  this  agave  to  complete  its  huge 
rosette  of  basal  leaves, — the  whole  often  being 
over  fourteen  feet  across.  Then  up  shoots  a 
pole  or  flowering  stem  which,  just  after  the  start, 
grows  at  the  rate  of  two  feet  a  day.  I  measured 
one  of  these  stems, — thirteen  inches  in  diameter 
at  the  base  and  forty-two  feet  eight  inches  high! 
This  astounding  stem  was  produced  in  about  a 
month ! 

Generally  there  are  few  attractive  plants  in 
swamps,  but  in  the  Glades  there  are  many.  Canna 
flaccida  (a  cousin  of  the  cultivated  species)  has 
exceedingly  pretty  yellow  blossoms.  The  pick- 
erel weed  (Pontederia)  with  heads  of  blue  flowers 


-  I 

«B* 


THE  EVERGLADES  125 

is  everywhere  abundant  and  the  handsome  water 
hyacinth,  such  a  nuisance  in  the  fresh  waters 
farther  north,  is  gaining  entrance  by  the  canals. 
Crinum  americanum,  a  bulbous  plant,  has  lovely, 
pure  white,  fragrant  blooms  and  two  species  of 
Hymenocallis  or  spider  lilies  display  their  offerings 
in  large  blossoms,  the  long  white  segments  of  which 
suggest  the  ribs  of  an  umbrella, — the  whole  being 
surmounted  by  a  lovely  crown.  There  is  a  hand- 
some blue  Nama  and  two  charming  pond  lilies, 
one  a  Nymphaea  with  yellow  and  the  other  a 
Castalia  with  white  flowers.  The  latter  is  one  of 
the  common  pond  lilies  of  the  north.  The  leaves 
of  the  yellow  lily  are  strong  and  erect  and  the  plant 
usually  bears  the  name  of  "bonnets." 

Great  masses  of  a  cattail  (Typha  angustifolia) 
are  often  met  and  occasionally  the  arrowheads 
(Sagittaria),  with  lance-shaped  leaves.  In  the 
canals  the  curious  water  lettuce  (Pistia  stratioides) 
floats  down  from  the  lakes,  where  there  is  a  great 
variety  of  interesting  aquatic  vegetation.  The 
boneset,  Thalia,  Nama,  maiden  cane,  and  some 
others  are  from  the  north  while  the  saw  grass, 
Crinum,  gama  grass,  spider  lilies,  the  foxtail, 
water  hemp,  giant  bullrush  and  water  lettuce  are 


126  IN  LOWER.  FLORIDA  WILDS 

purely  tropical  and  are  derived  from  Middle 
America.  The  pickerel  weed  and  common  reed 
are  widely  distributed.  The  cattail  extends  north 
to  Canada  and  south  throughout  the  West 
Indies;  it  also  lives  in  both  Europe  and  Asia 
and  now  in  New  Zealand.  It  is  probable  that  a 
majority  of  the  plants  of  the  Upper  Glades  are  of 
northern  derivation  and  that  the  greater  part  of 
the  flora  of  the  southern  end  is  Antillean. 

Although  only  the  preliminary  work  of  drainage 
has  been  done  yet  it  has  had  a  marked  effect  on 
the  vegetation.  Along  the  banks  of  the  canals 
and  on  all  slightly  elevated  spots  a  variety  of 
trees  and  shrubs  are  springing  up,  so  that  where 
formerly  the  eye  swept  over  a  monotonous  even 
expanse  of  saw  grass,  the  view  now  presents 
patches  of  incipient  forests.  This  new  element 
in  the  flora  is  especially  noticeable  around  the 
eastern  border  which  is  somewhat  drier  than  the 
main  body  of  the  swamp.  Here  groves  of  young 
timber  are  claiming  titles  on  every  hand. 

One  of  the  results  of  partial  drainage  is  that 
along  this  same  east  border  numerous  low,  tim- 
bered "islands,"  which  were  formerly  quite  wet, 
have  now  been  changed  to  dry  land.  A  con- 


THE  EVERGLADES  127 

siderable  part  of  the  foundation  of  these  groves  is 
peat  and  in  dry  times  it  is  very  liable  to  fire,  and 
once  begun  it  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  extinguish 
it.  These  groves,  despoiled  of  their  only  defense 
against  fire,  are  often  wholly  destroyed.  So  it 
happens  that  while  the  draining  of  the  Everglades 
makes  it  possible  for  forests  to  spring  up  and  flour- 
ish in  some  places  it  is  the  cause  of  their  destruc- 
tion in  others. 

The  animal  life  of  the  Glades  is  most  interest- 
ing and  especially  so  as  regards  the  avifauna,  or 
rather,  as  regarded  it.  This  was  the  home  of  the 
flamingo,  the  terns  and  gulls,  the  scarlet  ibis,  and 
the  roseate  spoonbill.  Here  too  were  myriad 
egrets  in  dainty,  snowy  robes,  the  capricious  brides 
of  the  feathery  kingdom.  All  gave  life  and  color 
to  the  great  swamp.  Still  lingering  here  are  the 
strange  limpkins — Aramus  vociferus — that  wail  out 
their  "  whee-ee-eu " ;  also  the  equally  strange 
snake  bird  Anhinga  anhinga  which  swims  with  the 
body  submerged  and  only  the  serpentlike  head 
and  neck  visible.  There  are  herons,  bitterns, 
coots,  ducks,  the  cormorant,  the  Everglade  kite, 
and  many  others,  but  the  heydey  of  bird  life  has 
passed  and  is  passing.  The  wildcat  makes  its 


128  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

home  on  the  "islands"  and  along  the  borders  of 
the  Glades  preying  upon  its  smaller  mammals; 
deer  are  still  found  occasionally;  raccoons  and 
otters  are  fairly  abundant. 

The  waters  are  well  stocked  with  fish  of  several 
species.  Black  bass  is  common,  but  the  most 
notable  of  fish  is  a  gar  pike  belonging  to  the  genus 
Lepisosteus  which  differs  in  many  essential  points 
from  all  other  groups  of  the  present  day.  There 
are  supposedly  three  species  of  this  genus  in  the 
waters  of  the  United  States,  one  of  which  also 
extends  its  range  into  Cuba.  A  fourth  species  is 
Central  American  and  a  fifth  Chinese.  These 
ganoids  (as  the  order  of  the  gar  pikes  is  called) 
date  their  origin  in  the  Lower  Silurian  period — 
many  many  million  years  ago.  Together  with 
the  sharks  which  also  inhabited  these  primordial 
seas  and  still  exist  in  our  waters,  these  were  the 
first  known  fishes  of  our  planet.  The  ganoids 
swarmed  in  the  ancient  oceans  of  pregeological 
epochs,  but  few  species  remain  to-day.  The 
Everglade  pike  is  one. 

The  entire  ganoid  structure  is  "old-fashioned" 
to  a  remarkable  degree.  In  the  earlier  forms 
the  skeleton  was  cartilaginous  but  in  the  recent 


THE  EVERGLADES  129 

species  it  is  more  or  less  ossified.  The  vertebrae 
have  ball  and  socket  joints,  like  those  of  the  ser- 
pents, and  wholly  unlike  those  of  all  other  fishes 
(inverted  cone).  The  head  moves  on  the  neck 
independently  of  the  body.  The  scales  of  the  gar 
pikes  are  so  hard  that  fire  may  be  struck  from 
them  with  a  piece  of  steel,  and  they  are  arranged 
in  diagonal  rows  running  from  the  back  down- 
ward and  backward.  They  are  very  curiously 
fitted  together,  in  some  cases  being  fastened  to 
each  other  by  a  system  of  hooks;  they  do  not  lap 
over  as  in  regular  fishes  but  form  instead  a  coat 
of  armor.  A  remarkable  fish  indeed ! 

I  never  look  at  one  of  these  strange  creatures  so 
abundant  in  the  Glades,  but  I  am  reminded  of  the 
serpents  and  feel  more  and  more  sure  that  they 
developed  from  these  ancient  fishes.  The  sight  of 
some  survivor  from  the  early  dawn  of  life  always 
fills  me  with  awe  and  reverence.  A  few  Brachy- 
opods  or  lamp  shells  still  inhabit  our  seas  though 
they  developed  and  lived  in  myriads  in  the  old 
Cambrian  ocean,  among  the  very  earliest  forms 
of  life  known  to  inhabit  our  world.  Two  of  their 
genera,  Lingula  and  Discina,  which  are  among 
the  oldest  genera  known  survive  to-day  and  living 


130  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

species  of  these  groups  can  scarcely  be  separated 
from  the  ancient  fossil  ones.  A  remnant  of 
Crinoids  or  "stone  lilies"  still  survives  and  this 
order  too  goes  back  to  the  first  days  of  life. 

What  a  wonderful  amount  of  generic  vitality 
such  creatures  must  have;  what  powers  of  adapta- 
tion to  diversified  environment;  what  ability  to 
hold  on  tenaciously  to  their  structure  and  family 
characters  throughout  the  countless  ages!  We 
boast  of  our  old  families  that  date  back  some 
generations  but  here  are  creatures  whose  an- 
cestors have  kept  [their  vigor  and  likeness  a 
thousand  times  longer  than  the  human  race!  I 
feel  like  taking  off  my  hat  and  bowing  to 
them,  i 

Shortly  after  coming  to  Dade  County  I  made 
a  trip  to  Paradise  Key,  a  large  island  in  the  Lower 
Everglades  and  covered  with  magnificent  ham- 
mock. I  went  in  company  with  my  neighbor, 
John  Soar,  and  A.  A.  Eaton,  a  man  in  the  prime  of 
life  and  an  excellent  botanist.  He  had  a  fine 
physique,  was  full  of  life  and  humor,  was  most 
companionable  and  altogether  one  of  the  best 
woodsmen  I  ever  knew.  We  were  always  pleas- 
antly bantering  each  other.  We  drove  over  pre- 


THE  EVERGLADES  131 

posterous  roads  to  Camp  Jackson,  a  sort  of  depot 
of  surveyors  for  the  Florida  East  Coast  Railway, 
and  lying  on  the  edge  of  the  Glades.  Thence 
with  camp  outfit  we  proceeded  afoot  for  the  island, 
three  or  four  miles  away. 

The  surface  was  irregular  rock,  which,  as  we 
proceeded,  became  covered  with  water  and  so 
slippery  that  we  were  constantly  sliding  into  pot 
holes.  In  fact  the  walking  consisted  mostly  in 
slipping  down  and  getting  up  again.  At  length 
we  reached  the  headwaters  of  Taylor  River  and 
Soar  suggested  that  we  keep  close  together  when 
crossing.  Eaton  asked  why  and  was  told  that 
there  might  be  alligators  or  crocodiles.  He  con- 
temptuously offered  to  eat  the  entire  saurian  sup- 
ply that  might  be  found  in  Dade  County,  and 
boldly  waded  in.  In  midstream,  the  water  to  his 
armpits,  there  suddenly  began  a  tremendous  com- 
motion and  for  a  minute  the  surface  of  the  stream 
was  all  arms,  legs,  blankets,  and  camp  equipage, 
along  with  the  tail  and  body  of  a  monster  alligator. 
Eaton  finally  crawled  out  looking  very  pale  and 
explained  that  he  had  stepped  on  what  he  thought 
was  a  log.  When  we  finally  waded  across  Soar 
took  the  lead  and  Eaton  stuck  very  close  to  me. 


132  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

After  that  I  frequently  reminded  him  of  his 
promise  to  eat  the  alligator  crop. 

We  tramped  through  the  magnificent  forest  of 
Paradise  Key,  leaving  our  equipage  beside  a  very 
tall  royal  palm  where  we  entered.  Soar  skinned  a 
rattlesnake  which  Eaton  shot  and  I  collected  a 
large  bag  of  rare  orchids ;  then  we  started  back  to 
our  outfit  but,  after  searching  an  hour,  we  were 
unable  to  locate  it.  At  last  Eaton  climbed  a  tree 
and  saw  it  just  to  the  right,  we  having  passed  close 
to  it  a  number  of  times.  We  had  intended  to 
camp  on  the  key  but  for  some  reason  Soar  and 
Eaton  thought  it  better  to  return  to  Camp  Jack- 
son, so  we  started  about  sundown.  On  the  way 
Soar  became  dreadfully  ill,  probably  from  the 
offensive  odor  of  the  snake,  so  Eaton  hurried  on  to 
a  clump  of  scrub  ahead,  hung  up  his  load,  and 
returning  took  that  of  Soar.  He  said  he  would 
push  on  to  an  incipient  hammock  we  had  passed 
coming  in  and  we  would  make  camp  there. 

As  he  disappeared  in  the  darkness  I  took  his 
bearings  by  a  star  and  slowly  followed.  The  sack 
containing  my  orchids  weighed  about  forty  pounds 
at  starting,  but  gradually  increased  to  the  size  and 
weight  of  a  freight  car.  I  constantly  fell  into  pot 


THE  EVERGLADES  133 

holes,  and  once  I  lost  my  pack  in  the  saw  grass. 
At  last  I  made  out  the  little  scrubby  growth,  and 
on  entering  I  stumbled  over  Eaton's  pack,  but 
though  I  called  I  got  no  reply. 

From  a  dead  limb  I  shaved  off  some  kindling 
and  soon  had  a  fire  started.  Poor  Soar,  now  very 
weak,  saw  the  light  from  a  long  way  off  and 
headed  slowly  for  it,  and  soon  Eaton  arrived  with 
a  lightwood  log  that  he  had  obtained  from  the 
forest  beyond.  He  said  that  the  building  of  that 
fire  was  the  only  sensible  thing  he  ever  knew  me  to 
do.  Soar  finally  arrived  in  dreadful  condition 
and  he  vomited  most  of  the  night.  We  were 
camped  on  a  small  ragged  rock  which  nowhere  rose 
more  than  a  foot  above  the  water  and  was  full  of 
pot  holes.  Here  we  turned  in  for  the  night  on  the 
most  wretched  bed  I  ever  saw.  Towards  morning 
we  all  slept  but  at  dawn  I  got  up  to  stretch  my 
cold,  aching  limbs.  Within  twenty  feet  of  us  was 
a  fine  dry  island  a  rod  across,  almost  perfectly 
level,  covered  with  nice  soft  grass, — an  ideal 
place  for  a  camp.  Eaton  suggested  that  we  each 
take  turns  kicking  the  others  and  he  basely 
attempted  to  lay  the  responsibility  of  the  camp 
selection  on  me. 


134  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

On  our  way  back  to  Miami  we  camped  near  the 
shack  of  a  couple  of  tall,  solemn-looking  Georgians 
who  lived  on  the  edge  of  the  Glades.  They  came 
out  to  inspect  us  when  they  were  through  supper. 
Eaton  was  in  excellent  spirits  and  constantly 
rallied  me,  and  I  retorted  as  best  I  could.  When 
bedtime  came  I  went  with  the  Georgians  to  get  a 
pail  of  water  from  their  well  when  one  of  them 
said  to  me:  "That  feller's  mighty  aggrivatin'." 
I  agreed  that  he  was  and  the  man  said  "Do  ye 
know  what  'ud  happen  in  my  country  if  one  feller 
abused  another  the  way  he  done  you-all  ?  Thar'ud 
a  bin  some  shootin'  a-goin'  on,  mighty  quick;  you 
kinbetyer  life  on  that."  Poor  Eaton!  He  went 
north,  married  the  woman  of  his  choice,  and  wrote 
me  how  supremely  happy  he  was, — and  then  I 
heard  of  his  sudden  death.  Had  he  lived  he  would 
have  become  famous  as  a  botanist. 

Shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  North  New 
River  Canal  I  made  a  trip  from  Ft.  Myers  up  the 
Caloosahatchee  River,  through  the  Disston  Canal 
and  Lake  Okeechobee  to  the  little  settlement  of  Rita, 
thence  down  to  Ft.  Lauderdale.  I  had  made  many 
visits  into  the  edge  of  the  great  prairie  before  but  this 
trip  gave  me  my  first  true  idea  of  its  vastness  and 


THE  EVERGLADES  135 

sublimity.  A  heavy  belt  of  pond-apple  forest 
(Annona)  skirts  the  south  shore  of  Okeechobee 
but  soon  it  faded  from  view  as  we  moved  down 
the  canal.  Then  for  hours  we  passed  a  reach  of 
saw  grass,  apparently  as  level  as  the  lake  itself  and 
extending  in  solemn  grandeur  without  interruption 
to  the  horizon, — only  grass  and  sky. 

This  is  in  the  "Upper  Glades,"  its  limestone 
foundation  deeply  buried  under  a  bed  of  muck. 
Although  the  surface  appeared  to  be  absolutely 
level  the  strong  current  in  the  canal  told  another 
story.  Some  thirty  miles  from  the  lake  the  rock 
appears  on  the  surface,  and  as  usual  is  full  of  pot 
holes  which,  in  turn,  are  filled  with  muck;  then 
comes  a  belt  of  soil,  said  to  be  deep;  farther  on 
the  rock  again  reappears. 

I  remained  on  the  upper  deck  of  the  boat  during 
most  of  the  passage,  fascinated  by  the  wonderful 
scene.  It  differs  from  the  prairies  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi  Valley  in  being  flat  and  partly  covered 
with  water,  whereas  they  are  rolling  and  dry. 
There  is  a  suggestion  of  the  sea  in  this  vast  stretch 
of  swamp.  Smoke  arose  far  away  to  the  southwest, 
no  doubt  from  a  fire  in  the  Lower  Glades,  as  though 
from  some  steamer  hull  down  below  the  horizon. 


I36          .IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Since  the  opening  of  the  canal  I  again  crossed 
the  Glades  but  on  account  of  low  water  the  boat 
from  Fort  Myers  only  carried  me  to  La  Belle  on 
the  Caloosahatchee.  I  induced  a  man  going  up 
stream  in  a  skiff  launch  to  take  me  to  Rita  on  the 
lake.  Just  as  we  were  starting  he  was  hailed  by 
three  men  in  a  rowboat  who  immediately  came 
aboard,  fastening  their  craft  behind  ours.  They 
were  all  fishermen  who  plied  their  trade  in  the  big 
lake,  and  in  all  my  wanderings  I  have  never  seen  a 
rougher  crowd  in  dress,  appearance,  or  manners. 
The  man  who  carried  me  said  he  was  forty-five  but 
he  looked  twenty  years  older  with  a  face  dread- 
fully marked  by  a  rough  life  and  dissipation.  He 
was  addressed  as  "Th*  ole  man"  by  the  others 
who  were  much  younger.  I  was  decently  dressed, 
had  some  money  and  a  watch,  and  I  confess  to  a 
little  fear  of  my  companions  who  might  so  easily 
knock  me  on  the  head  and  throw  me  overboard. 

We  ran  up  the  palmetto-bordered  Caloosahat- 
chee, which  I  consider  more  beautiful  than  the 
famed  St.  Johns,  but  towards  night  our  engine 
began  to  give  trouble  and  seriously  to  delay  us. 
It  was  midnight  when  we  stopped  at  a  shanty 
along  the  canal;  the  men  made  a  fire  and  cooked 


THE  EVERGLADES  137 

some  supper  and  we  made  a  try  for  the  forty 
winks.  At  daylight  we  resumed  our  journey  with 
a  still  balky  engine  and  only  reached  Lake  Hic- 
pochee  after  nightfall.  We  had  no  food  all  that 
day  but  at  night  I  had  to  force  the  men  to  share  a 
few  cakes  I  had  with  me. 

The  boatman  attempted  to  cross  the  lake  to  a 
camp  where  the  canal  entered  and  where  we  all 
hoped  to  get  food.  Before  long  I  saw  by  the  stars 
that  we  were  wandering  aimlessly  about  and 
finally  the  men  had  to  admit  being  lost.  They 
then  hauled  the  tow  alongside,  laid  a  piece  of 
board,  some  poles,  and  the  oars  lengthwise  over 
the  thwarts,  spread  out  some  blankets  and  told 
me  that  was  my  bed.  I  remonstrated  against 
their  self-denial  but  the  old  man  impatiently  said : 
"Oh,  d — n  it,  don't  set  thar  chawin'  about  it;  we 
got  a-plenty  o'  beddin',"  so  I  crawled  in,  or  rather, 
on,  for  a  fair  night's  sleep.  In  the  gray  dawn  I 
awoke  and  looked  at  my  companions  in  the 
launch.  There  was  a  heavy  fog  and  the  air  was 
raw;  not  one  of  them  had  a  shred  of  cover.  One 
was  perched  in  the  bow  of  the  boat,  one  sat  on  a 
box,  while  the  other  two  were  just  managing  to 
lie  on  the  thwarts,  for  there  was  water  in  the  bot- 


I38  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

torn  of  the  skiff;  all  were  fast  asleep.  These 
toughs  and  outlaws  had  given  their  blankets  to 
make  a  bed  for  me — a  stranger — in  full  expectation 
of  themselves  spending  a  wretched  night.  Heart- 
ily ashamed  of  myself  for  having  suspected  them 
I  conceived  a  feeling  of  genuine  fellowship  for  the 
whole  lot!  After  many  more  vicissitudes  I 
arrived  at  Rita  and  eventually  home. 

No  sketch  of  the  Everglades  would  be  complete 
without  some  account  of  that  strange,  pathetic 
remnant  of  Indian  life — the  Seminoles.  According 
to  a  recent  estimate  there  are  only  about  four 
hundred  of  them  left,  and  though  once  a  coura- 
geous and  fierce  tribe  they  are  now  reduced  to  the 
conventional  level  of  very  well-behaved  and  harm- 
less people.  They  live,  a  few  families  together,  in 
widely  scattered  camps,  located  on  the  pine  land 
amid  the  cypress  strands  or  on  islands  in  the 
Glades.  Their  camps  are  built  without  any  order 
or  accepted  plan  of  arrangement.  The  dwellings 
are  the  merest  shelters;  they  cannot  even  be 
called  huts.  A  platform  seven  or  eight  feet 
square  is  elevated  a  couple  of  feet  on  crotches  or 
posts  and  the  small  logs  of  this  are  either  flattened 
off  into  puncheons  or  left  natural.  A  low  span 


THE  EVERGLADES  139 

roof,  usually  of  palmetto  thatch,  shelters  the  plat- 
form and  it  is  open  to  wind  and  weather  on  all 
sides.  In  such  a  mansion  the  family  resides.  Their 
houses  must  be  rather  uncomfortable  during  severe 
northers  although  the  tenants  may  improvise  some 
kind  of  curtains  in  periods  of  storm. 

The  Seminoles  raise  some  garden  vegetables — 
especially  a  very  fine  small  sweet  pumpkin.  The 
men  hunt  deer  and  other  animals  and  trap  otters 
for  their  skins.  The  women  make  baskets,  bead 
work,  and  various  trinkets  to  sell.  The  latter 
wear  long  gowns  and  a  cape  bordered  with  a  high- 
ly colored  fringe;  a  short  jacket  beneath  does  not 
always  reach  to  the  skirt.  Many  strings  of  blue 
or  red  glass  beads  are  strung  about  the  neck  and 
shoulders,  the  whole  sometimes  weighing  twenty 
pounds.  Around  the  bottom  of  the  skirt  are  one 
or  more  belts  of  striking  colors  which  look  as 
though  the  woman  had  appropriated  a  section  of 
the  rainbow.  The  men  wear  a  shirt  that  reaches 
to  the  knees  and  is  belted  around  the  waist.  This 
shirt  is  usually  decorated  with  what  remains  of  the 
rainbow.  In  some  cases  they  wear  a  highly  col- 
ored turban  and  also  trousers  but  the  majority 
go  bare  as  to  head,  legs,  and  feet. 


I4o  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

They  are  quiet  and  dignified  in  manner,  are 
absolutely  truthful  and  fully  aware  of  their  su- 
periority in  this  respect  over  the  white  man.  One 
of  the  paleface  vices  they  cherish  to  an  extra- 
ordinary degree, — the  love  of  firewater  or  "why- 
ome"  as  they  call  it.  They  generally  indulge  a 
bit  freely  when  in  town,  but  they  are  not  given 
to  noise  or  viciousness  when  intoxicated.  A  tipsy 
Seminole  can  get  just  a  little  more  wabbly  on  his 
legs  without  actually  falling  than  can  any  other 
human  being. 

Their  words  are  composed  of  a  great  number  of 
syllables.  Willoughby  has  given  a  vocabulary  of 
them  in  his  book  Across  the  Everglades  and  in 
this  only  two  words  have  a  single  syllable  while 
many  run  up  into  eight  or  more.  For  instance 
heron  is  "wak-ko-lot-ko-o-hi-lot-tee";  instep  is  "e- 
lit-ta-pix-tee-e-fa-cho-to-kee-not-ee,"  and  wrist 
"in-tee-ti-pix-tee-e-toke-kee-kee-tay-gaw."  I 
should  think  it  would  take  a  half  hour  for  a  Sem- 
inole to  ask  the  time  of  day,  but  fortunately  he 
has  plenty  of  time. 

There  is  something  very  distressing  in  the  grad- 
ual passing  of  the  wilds,  the  destruction  of  the 
forests,  the  draining  of  the  swamps  and  lowlands, 


THE  EVERGLADES  141 

the  transforming  of  the  prairies  with  their  won- 
derful wealth  of  bloom  and  beauty,  and  in  its 
place  the  coming  of  civilized  man  with  all  his  un- 
sightly constructions, — his  struggles  for  power, 
his  vulgarity  and  pretensions.  Soon  this  vast, 
lonely,  beautiful  waste  will  be  reclaimed  and 
tamed;  soon  it  will  be  furrowed  by  canals  and 
highways  and  spanned  by  steel  rails.  A  busy, 
toiling  people  will  occupy  the  places  that  sheltered 
a  wealth  of  wild  life.  Gaily  dressed  picnicers  or 
church-goers  will  replace  the  flaming  and  scarlet 
ibis,  the  ethereal  egret  and  the  white  flowers  of  the 
crinums  and  arrowheads,  the  rainbow  bedecked 
garments  of  the  Seminoles.  In  place  of  the  cries 
of  wild  birds  there  will  be  heard  the  whistle  of  the 
locomotive  and  the  honk  of  the  automobile. 

We  constantly  boast  of  our  marvelous  national 
growth.  We  shall  proudly  point  some  day  to  the 
Everglade  country  and  say:  "Only  a  few  years 
ago  this  was  a  worthless  swamp;  to-day  it  is  an 
empire."  But  I  sometimes  wonder  quite  seriously 
if  the  world  is  any  better  off  because  we  have  de- 
stroyed the  wilds  and  filled  the  land  with  countless 
human  beings.  Is  the  percentage  of  happiness 
greater  in  a  state  of  five  million  inhabitants  than 


142  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

in  one  of  half  a  million,  or  in  a  huge  city  with  all 
its  slums  and  poverty  than  in  a  village?  In  short 
I  question  the  success  of  our  civilization  from  the 
point  of  view  of  general  happiness  gained  for  all  or 
for  the  real  joy  of  life  for  any. 


CHAPTER  VII 
The  Planting  of  O\ir  Flora 


CfER  Florida,  including  the  Everglades,  has 
a  mixed  flora,  consisting,  for  the  most 
part,   of  the   warm  temperate  and  the 
tropical  forms;  the  latter  somewhat  pre- 
dominate.    There   are  also   quite   a   number  of 
species    which    are    immigrants    from   north   of 
latitude  40°.     Then,  too,  as  almost  everywhere, 
there  is  an  element,  always  increasing,  of  species 
naturalized    from    the    Old    World.      These  are 
the  floral  tramps  which  follow  the  migration  of 
man  and  make  themselves  at  home  wherever  the 
climate  is  suitable.     A  few  forms  were  developed 
right  here  from  species  which  originally  migrated 
from  the  American  tropics,  and  these  may  prop- 
erly be  called  semi-tropical. 

During  the  glacial  period  of  early  pleistocene 
time  a  great  ice  cap  covered  the  northern  part  of 
America  even  to  the  Ohio  and  Lower  Missouri 


144  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

rivers.  The  slowly  advancing  wall  of  ice  and  the 
cold  temperature  drove  the  flora  southward. 
We  have  in  Lower  Florida  at  least  seventy-five 
species  of  plants  which  also  range  north  to  or 
beyond  the  fortieth  parallel,  some  of  which  reach 
even  into  Canada.  These  probably  had  fled  before 
the  oncoming  glaciers  in  the  north  but  finding  here 
conditions  favorable  for  their  growth,  they  re- 
mained and  became  a  permanent  part  of  our  flora. 
Some  of  these  have  continued  their  range  into  the 
West  Indies  and  a  very  few,  such  as  the  common 
reed  and  cattail,  have  a  still  wider  distribution, 
even  including  the  Old  World.  It  is  therefore 
impossible  to  be  sure  in  every  case  whether  a 
species  originated  in  the  north,  the  American 
tropics,  or  in  the  Orient. 

It  is  probable  that  before  the  glacial  period,  a 
warm  temperate  or  semi-tropical  flora  inhabited 
the  region  of  our  present  Southern  States  and  a 
more  strictly  tropical  one  the  lower  part  of  Florida. 
The  cold  of  the  ice  age  exterminated  the  tenderer 
plants,  for  although  there  was  no  actual  ice  cap  in 
the  Southern  States,  the  many  years  of  continu- 
ous winter  materially  lowered  the  temperature 
throughout  the  south.  Some  Florida  remnants 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA       145 

are  recognizable  of  this  old  warm  temperate  and 
subtropical  flora.  The  porcupine  palm  (Rhapido- 
phyllum  hystrix),  the  blue  stem  (Sabal  adansoni} 
(both  of  the  upper  part  of  the  State),  the  saw  pal- 
metto (Serenoa  serrulata) ,  the  cabbage  palmetto 
(Sabal  palmetto),  and  two  species  of  comptie 
(Zamia  pumila  and  Z.  floridana) ,  together  with  a 
few  other  plants  appear  to  be  survivors  of  pre- 
glacial  days. 

A  number  of  large  mammals  such  as  the  ele- 
phant, rhinoceros,  mastodon,  the  saber-toothed 
tiger,  a  glyptodon  (one  of  those  strange  forms 
which  seems  to  have  been  intended  for  a  gigantic 
tortoise  but  which  through  some  misdeal  in  crea- 
tion became  a  mammal),  and  many  others,  then 
inhabited  Florida.  They  endured  here  the  cold  of 
glacial  times  and  survived  to  enjoy  the  genial  period 
which  succeeded, — then,  for  some  unaccountable 
reason,  they  became  extinct.  Possibly  their  vital- 
ity was  lowered  by  the  long,  severe  winter. 

There  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  1200  species 
of  native  and  naturalized  flowering  plants  growing 
on  the  lower  mainland  of  Florida  and  about  50 
ferns  and  their  allies.  To  these  add  250  species 
on  the  Florida  Keys  not  known  to  inhabit  the 


146  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

mainland,  and  we  get  some  1500  total  in  an  area 
of  3000  square  miles.  I  confess  at  first  to  sur- 
prise at  the  small  number  of  species  in  a  region 
of  the  size  and  lying,  too,  at  the  very  door  of  the 
tropics.  On  reflection,  however,  the  reason  is 
easily  understood.  The  area  considered  is  very 
new;  it  was  elevated  above  the  sea  only  yesterday 
(geologically  speaking)  and  is  scarcely  dried  off 
yet.  Hence  there  has  been  insufficient  time  to 
accumulate  an  extensive  flora.  The  sandy  soil  is 
poor,  and  over  much  of  the  area  the  rocky  ground 
has  no  covering  whatever.  Lime  is  poison  to  many 
species  of  plants  and  such  will  not  grow  in  most  of 
our  territory.  There  is  but  slight  variation  in  the 
contour  of  the  entire  region  and  this  would  pre- 
clude the  mountain  species  and  those  affecting 
elevated  or  broken  land. 

I  have  already  stated  that  the  Florida  Keys  are 
being  worn  away  and  that  they  formerly  occupied 
a  larger  area  than  at  present.  Dr.  Small,  who 
has  made  a  careful  study  of  the  flora  of  Lower 
Florida,  believes  that  some  species  of  plants  which 
formerly  existed  on  the  keys  are  found  there  no 
longer,  having  inhabited  land  now  destroyed; 
this  view  is  doubtless  correct. 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA        147 

The  Everglades  stretch  almost  across  the 
northern  part  of  Lower  Florida  like  a  line  of  forti- 
fications forbidding  entrance  to  dry -land  plants  of 
the  warm  temperate  region.  According  to  the 
map  of  the  Everglades  Drainage  District  the  great 
swamp  comes  out  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Chatham  River  and  extends 
south  along  the  Ten  Thousand  Islands  to  Cape 
Sable,  but  there  is  at  least  one  considerable  body 
of  hammock  land  along  Rodgers  River.  At  any 
rate  the  immigration  of  the  more  northern  dry- 
land plants  is  prevented  on  the  west  and  they  can 
only  enter  the  lower  part  of  the  State  along  the 
sandy,  rocky  ridge  near  the  east  coast.  The  seeds 
of  a  few  like  the  thistles  and  other  Compositas  may 
have  been  wind-borne  from  the  northward. 

All  the  tropical  part  of  our  flora  has  migrated 
in  some  way  across  the  sea;  even  the  seeds  of 
Cuban  plants  must  have  crossed  a  strait  at  least 
ninety  miles  wide.  The  question  of  how  they 
reached  our  shores  and  became  established  is  a 
very  interesting  one. 

It  has  been  claimed  that  a  land  passage  con- 
nected Cuba  and  the  lower  end  of  Florida  within 
the  lifetime  of  our  existing  plants  and  animals,  but 


148  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

in  another  chapter  I  give  my  reasons  for  believing 
this  an  error.  Many  tropical  trees  and  shrubs 
produce  berries  and  drupes,  the  seeds  of  which  are 
indigestible  but  the  surrounding  pulp  is  relished 
and  eagerly  devoured  by  birds.  The  seeds  may 
be  carried  long  distances  before  being  ejected,  and 
as  they  retain  their  vitality  they  may  germinate 
and  grow  in  distant  regions.  Guppy  has  written 
his  observations  in  the  Pacific,  and  the  burden  of 
it  seems  to  be  to  prove  that  birds  do  almost  all 
the  carrying  of  seeds  across  oceans.  He  believes 
they  have  transported  many  plant  species  from 
the  American  tropics  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  a 
distance  of  three  thousand  miles.  It  seems  to  me 
more  probable  that  most  of  the  American  plants 
now  found  in  the  Pacific  were  transported  as  float- 
ing seeds  or  on  timber  at  the  time  when  an  Atlantic 
current  passed  westward  through  what  is  now  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama. 

There  are  hundreds  of  trees  and  shrubs  in  Cuba 
which  bear  edible  drupes  and  berries,  but  very 
few  of  them  have  become  established  on  our  shores. 
For  example,  there  are  more  than  seventy  species 
of  Eugenias  and  their  allies  in  that  near-by  island 
which  have  fruits  adapted  to  bird  transport,  yet 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA        149 

we  have  only  ten  of  them  in  Florida  and  two  of 
those  are  possibly  endemic.  I  cannot  believe 
that  any  substantial  part  of  our  tropical  flora  has 
been  planted  in  this  way.  Most  of  the  drupes 
and  berries  in  Cuba  ripen  in  the  summer  and 
autumn.  Our  migrating  birds  go  to  that  island 
in  the  fall  and  remain  through  the  winter  (or  pass 
farther  south),  returning  to  Florida  in  the  spring 
when  very  few  such  fruits  are  on  the  trees. 

We  have  here  many  tropical  herbaceous  plants 
the  seeds  of  which  are  freely  eaten  by  birds  but 
which  are  as  freely  digested.  Such  seeds,  then, 
could  not  under  ordinary  circumstances  have 
been  bird-transported  to  our  territory.  It  is 
possible  in  very  rare  cases  that  birds  having  eaten 
such  seeds  in  Cuba  might  at  once  fly  across  to 
Florida  and  be  killed  immediately  on  arriving. 
But  even  so  it  is  questionable  whether  such  seeds 
would  germinate  after  having  been  acted  upon  by 
gastric  juices. 

But  there  exists  another  fatal  objection  against 
the  birds  having  planted  any  great  portion  of  our 
tropical  flora.  I  have  shown  in  another  chapter 
that  there  are  three  distinct  areas  of  dry-land  life 
in  Lower  Florida  and  that  they  exist  because  they 


I5o  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

have  never  been  connected  since  the  present  life 
migrated  to  their  shores.  I  am  convinced  that 
this  life  was  largely  current-borne  and  was  brought 
to  the  different  land  areas  at  different  times.  // 
the  greater  part  of  our  tropical  plants  had  been  intro- 
duced by  birds  the  seeds  would  have  been  scattered 
promiscuously  over  our  entire  territory,  and  the 
more  tropical  part  of  the  State  would  be  inhabited 
by  only  a  single  flora ! 

Some  of  the  minute  or  winged  seeds  might  be, 
and  probably  were,  carried  across  during  hurri- 
canes, especially  those  of  the  air  pines,  the  orchids, 
Jamaica  dogwood,  mahogany,  and  the  spores  of 
ferns,  but  I  believe  that  a  majority  of  our  tropical 
plants  were  introduced  by  the  Gulf  Stream.  A 
number  of  the  drupes,  berries,  and  other  seeds 
float  and  retain  their  vitality  in  salt  water  for  a 
considerable  time.  In  little  bays  along  the  coast 
of  Utilla  Island,  Honduras,  I  have  seen  acres  of 
seeds  of  every  conceivable  description  densely 
crowded  together  and  floating, — held,  as  one  might 
say,  in  these  great  warehouses  awaiting  shipment 
to  Mexico,  Jamaica,  Cuba,  or  to  Lower  Florida. 
Some  wayward  current  or  strong  wind  might  drive 
them  out  into  the  open  sea  and  into  the  Gulf 


Id 


Hammock  Scene  at  "The  Sentinels,"  Home  of  the  Author.     Tree  Loaded 
with  Vines,  Long  Moss,  and  Various  Epiphytes 

Photo  by  Wilson  Popenoe 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA        151 

Stream,  thus  putting  them  aboard  the  great  trans- 
port which  carried  them  to  their  final  destinations. 

On  the  floor  of  any  tropical  forest  there  are 
always  decaying  limbs  and  tree  trunks,  and  often 
in  considerable  numbers.  The  exposed  surfaces 
of  such  fallen  timber  usually  decay  first  and  on 
them  soon  forms  a  thin  bed  of  loose  soil.  Seeds 
fall  on  this  and  find  it  an  excellent  place  to  germi- 
nate. On  one  of  these  decaying  logs  in  my  little 
hammock  I  once  counted  no  less  than  ninety 
seedlings  of  trees  and  shrubs  which  grew  near 
by, — seven  species  in  all.  These  little  plants 
came  from  several  different  crops  of  fruit,  some  of 
them  being  three  or  four  years  old.  Digging  into 
the  decaying  wood  I  found  many  other  fresh  and 
sprouting  seeds.  Here  was  a  garden  richly  planted 
and  all  needed  to  establish  it  elsewhere  would  be 
transportation  of  the  log  itself. 

Suppose  that  such  a  tree  lay  in  a  stream  valley, 
say  in  North  Cuba,  and  that  in  time  of  some  great 
downpour  of  rain  (during  a  hurricane  for  example) 
it  was  washed  into  the  Florida  Strait.  The  cur- 
rent of  the  Gulf  Stream  moves  eastward  and  north 
at  the  rate  of  about  three  miles  an  hour  and  this 
would  rapidly  bear  driftwood  toward  Florida, 


152  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

especially  if  it  was  aided  by  a  strong  wind.  There 
is  a  westward  and  southerly  return  current  or 
"back  wash"  along  the  mainland  and  the  Florida 
Keys  and  throughout  the  entire  region  prevailing 
winds  are  southeast;  hence  all  the  conditions 
favor  the  landing  of  such  seed-bearing  timber  on 
our  lower  coasts. 

Along  many  tropical  shores  the  waves  indus- 
tripusly  undermine  the  forests  carrying  seed- 
bearing  trees  to  sea  and  if  these  are  drifted  into 
this  great  ocean  current  they  may  be  brought  to 
our  shores.  Beebe  tells  in  a  recent  number  of  the 
Atlantic  Monthly  of  the  great  quantities  of  timber 
and  grass  which  the  rivers  of  Guiana  annually 
bring  down,  and  all  such  debris  may  bear  seeds 
of  trees,  shrubs,  and  herbaceous  plants.  Even 
considerable  islands  of  matted  roots  and  living 
vegetation  float  down  these  tropical  rivers  and 
drift  far  out  to  sea. 

Some  of  these  water-borne  seeds  retain  their 
vitality  perfectly  after  a  long  voyage.  Those  of 
at  least  three  species  of  mucuna  or  ox-eye  sea 
beans ;  Entada  scandens,  the  great  brown  sea  bean ; 
the  magnificent  calaba  tree  (Calophyllum  calaba) ; 
two  nicker  beans  (Guilandina) ;  Canavalias  and 


I 

w  c 

M  -0 

»52  ° 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA        153 

others  often  germinate  after  being  cast  up  on  our 
beaches;  even  the  fleshy  bulbs  of  Crinum  and 
Hymenocallis  are  not  the  least  injured  by  an 
ocean  voyage.  Why,  then,  it  may  reasonably  be 
asked,  do  they  not  spring  up  and  form  colonies 
along  our  shores?  The  reason  is  that  local  con- 
ditions are  not  congenial  for  most  of  them.  The 
material  forming  the  shores  of  the  open  sea  is 
impregnated  with  salt;  at  times  the  sea  may  roll 
over  it,  and  even  if  this  were  not  the  case  a  beach 
situation  is  too  much  exposed  for  most  inland 
plants. 

However,  the  seeds  of  certain  of  these  species 
do  come  up  and  flourish  when  thus  cast  on  the 
outer  shores.  Leaving  out  all  the  naturally  lit- 
toral forms,  such  as  mangroves  and  other  strand 
species,  we  do  find  in  many  such  places  the  two 
Pithecolobiums  (P.  guadelupensis  and  P.  unguis- 
cati) ;  Reynosia  latifolia  or  darling  plum ;  two  species 
of  Chrysobalanus  or  coco  plum;  Eugenia  buxifolia 
or  Spanish  stopper  (all  small  trees),  and  also  sev- 
eral shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants  which  seem  to 
do  nearly  as  well  along  the  shore  as  at  a  distance 
from  it. 

During   the   time   of   hurricanes    tidal    waves 


154  IN  LOWER  FLORID  A  WILDS 

sometimes  sweep  across  the  keys  and  to  some 
extent  portions  of  the  mainland  of  Lower  Florida, 
and  it  is  at  such  times  that  most  of  the  tropical 
seeds  are  distributed  over  the  land.  Some  years 
ago,  while  one  of  these  storms  raged,  the  sea  was 
driven  over  the  southeast  coast  of  the  State  until 
it  covered  all  or  the  greater  part  of  Elliott's  and 
Largo  keys.  This  wave  passed  inland  until  a 
considerable  area  of  the  Homestead  country  was 
under  water.  Two  men  in  boats  were  driven  far 
in  the  mainland;  one  immediately  pushed  out  on 
the  retreating  tide,  the  other  delayed  until  after 
the  water  subsided,  his  launch  grounded,  and  he 
never  could  float  it  again. 

In  his  West  Indian  Hurricanes  Garriott  gives 
an  account  of  a  storm  accompanied  by  a  tidal 
wave  that  is  in  point.  He  says  (page  49) :  "In 
the  month  of  September  of  the  year  1759  a  heavy 
gale  of  wind  from  the  northeast  so  greatly  impeded 
the  current  of  the  Gulf  Stream  that  the  water 
forced,  at  the  same  time,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
by  the  trade  winds,  rose  to  such  a  height  that  not 
only  the  Tortugas  and  other  islands  disappeared, 
but  the  highest  trees  were  covered  on  the  Peninsula 
of  Larga,  and  at  this  time  (so  says  Wm.  Gerard  de 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA       155 

Brahm,  Esq.)  the  Litbury,  John  Lorrain,  master, 
being  caught  in  the  gale,  came  to  anchor,  as  the 
master  supposed,  in  Hawke  Channel,  but  to  his 
great  surprise  found  his  vessel  the  next  day  high 
and  dry  on  Elliott's  Island  and  his  anchor  sus- 
pended in  the  boughs  of  a  tree."  This  sounds  a 
good  deal  like  a  "fish  story"  but  I  give  it  for  what 
it  may  be  worth.  It  will  be  noticed  that  Key 
Largo  is  called  a  "peninsula,"  and  at  the  time  of 
this  storm  it  no  doubt  was.  Such  tidal  waves  as 
this  could  easily  carry  floating  material  far  out 
upon  the  land  and  the  storms  which  cause  them 
almost  always  occur  in  the  late  summer  or  fall, 
the  very  time  when  the  greater  part  of  the  Cuban 
and  Bahaman  seeds  ripen. 

It  is  probable  that  there  may  be  at  intervals,  a 
series  of  years  when  conditions  are  especially 
favorable  for  the  transportation  of  tropical  seeds 
to  our  shores  and  for  the  planting  and  establishing 
of  them  in  suitable  stations.  During  such  time 
there  would  be  little  frost  or  drought  and  hurri- 
canes would  visit  Cuba  or  the  Bahamas  and  sweep 
over  to  our  shores.  Then  on  the  other  hand  come 
years  when  we  may  be  visited  by  a  severe  frost  or 
drought;  the  forest  fires  may  sweep  over  wide 


156  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

areas  and  exterminate  well-established  species. 
In  time  of  very  cold  weather  the  mangroves  and 
other  littoral  trees  are  sometimes  entirely  de- 
stroyed along  extensive  reaches  of  our  coasts.  I 
have  seen  nearly  every  young  plant  of  the  paradise 
tree  in  a  dense  hammock  killed  by  freezing.  The 
same  is  equally  true  of  certain  other  kinds  of  very 
tender  trees.  There  are  records  of  plants  col- 
lected by  the  older  botanists  in  Lower  Florida  not 
found  here  now,  and  it  is  all  but  certain  they  were 
not  exterminated  by  man. 

In  the  northern  part  of  Lower  Florida  the 
tropical  vegetation  is  almost  entirely  confined  to 
the  seashore  and  its  immediate  vicinity.  This  is 
caused  by  the  fact  that  the  temperature  along  the 
ocean  is  several  degrees  warmer  than  it  is  a  short 
distance  inland.  Birds  carry  tropical  seeds  from 
the  shore  and  drop  them  in  the  interior  but  owing 
to  the  winter  cold  they  either  do  not  grow  or  the 
plants  die  when  very  young.  In  the  southern 
parts  of  Monroe  and  Dade  counties  the  inland 
climate  is  warmer  and  at  Paradise  Key  in  the 
Everglades  (thirteen  miles  in  from  the  nearest 
shore)  over  fifty  species  of  tropical  trees  are  found. 
A  nearly  equal  number  grow  in  a  hammock  close 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA       157 

to  the  sea  at  Fort  Lauderdale,  fully  fifty  miles 
north  of  Paradise  Key,  but  almost  no  tropical 
flora  is  found  a  couple  of  miles  back  from  the 
shore.  At  Chokoloskee,  on  the  west  coast,  a  large 
number  of  tropical  forms  are  met,  but  five  miles 
away  from  the  gulf  the  vegetation  is  warm  tem- 
perate. A  few  of  the  hardier  West  Indian  plants 
extend  their  range  for  a  distance  up  the  coasts 
and  some  even  into  the  interior  of  the  peninsula. 

Along  the  west  bluff  of  Indian  River,  just  south 
of  Fort  Pierce,  in  latitude  27°3o',  I  found  thirty 
species  of  tropical  trees  and  shrubs.  Ten  rods 
inland  there  began,  to  be  a  few  species  of  warm 
temperate  trees  and  at  twenty  rods  back  scarcely 
any  tropical  species  were  to  be  found.  Just  to 
the  west  of  this  fringe  of  hammock  is  a  series  of 
nearly  parallel,  lofty  sand  dunes  which  deflect  up- 
ward the  cold  north-west  winds,  carrying  them  over 
the  top  of  the  forest  and  at  the  same  time  inviting 
an  eddy  of  warm  air  from  the  river  to  draw  in  and 
protect  the  vegetation  of  the  beach.  No  doubt 
the  cold  air  settles  immediately  in  the  lee  of  the 
ridge,  thus  preventing  the  tropical  growth  from 
extending  to  it. 

Quite  a  number  of  species  of  our  native  tropical 


158  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

trees,  near  the  northern  part  of  their  range,  do  not 
bear  fruit  with  any  regularity.  In  fact  they  may 
be  entirely  barren  for  a  series  of  years,  or  at  most 
produce  but  sparingly.  Simarouba  glauca,  one 
of  the  quassia  trees,  grows  to  a  large  size  in  the 
northern  part  of  our  area,  but  I  have  never  seen 
it  bloom  or  seed.  That  it  does  sometimes  do  so, 
even  as  far  north  as  Fort  Lauderdale,  is  certain,  for 
in  the  hammocks  young  trees  are  abundant. 
Pisonia  obtusata  seldom  fruits,  while  Pithecolobium 
guadelupense  and  the  fiddlewood  (Citharexylum) 
often  fail  for  one  or  more  seasons.  After  a  shorter 
or  longer  period  of  barrenness  there  may  come 
such  an  abundant  crop  of  seeds  that  the  ground 
under  the  trees  is  fairly  covered  with  them.  The 
reason  for  this  variability  of  production  is  easily 
explained.  The  winter  climate  of  the  northern 
part  of  our  area  is  so  cool  that  some  of  these  ten- 
derer trees  seldom  develop  flowers  or  fruit.  A 
hard  frost  may  occur  during  the  blooming  or  set- 
ting period  but  the  tree  itself  may  not  be  greatly 
injured;  hence  its  barrenness  except  when  the  sea- 
son is  favorable.  Insects  or  drought  sometimes  des- 
troy a  crop.  Again  it  is  possible  that  some  years 
these  trees  overbear  and  thus  so  exhaust  the  soil  it 


Nephrolepis  biserrata.  Sword  Fern  on  Palmetto. 
Long.     Cutler  Hammock 

Photo  by  Wilson  Popenoe 


Fronds  Eight  Feet 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA       159 

requires  some  time  to  recover.  This  irregularity 
may  be  due  in  part  to  the  poverty  of  the  soil,  for 
even  our  cultivated  fruit  trees  with  all  the  diligent 
care  we  give  them  usually  produce  more  abundant- 
ly on  alternate  years. 

If  all  the  seeds  from  a  "bumper  crop"  germi- 
nated there  would  not  be  room  for  the  little  plants 
to  stand  and  nearly  all  would  die  of  overcrowding. 
So  the  trees  seem  to  resort  to  an  expedient,  as  do 
many  animals.  They  apparently  use  devices 
which  if  employed  by  humans  would  be  attributed 
to  reason.  They  cannot  voluntarily  regulate 
their  bearing  but  they  seem  able  to  control  their 
seeds  for  a  time  after  they  have  fallen;  in  other 
words,  they  adopt  a  sort  of  balance  wheel  principle 
in  the  germination  of  the  fruits  to  counterbalance 
the  irregularity  with  which  they  produce  them. 
So  it  often  comes  about  that  only  a  few  seeds  may 
come  up  at  once  and  those  of  a  single  crop  may 
continue  to  germinate  for  a  long  series  of  years. 
This  gives  them  a  far  better  chance,  for  if  all 
grew  at  once  (granting  plenty  of  room),  a  hard 
freeze,  a  fire,  a  drought,  floods,  insects,  or  disease 
might  destroy  them  all.  They  do  not  put  all 
their  eggs  in  one  basket. 


160  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

^  Twelve  years  ago  I  introduced  Leucena  glauca, 
a  handsome  naturalized  tree,  into  my  grounds,  but 
finding  that  it  spread  by  means  of  its  seeds  until 
it  became  an  unmitigated  nuisance  I  dug  it  out 
entirely.  Ever  since  its  seeds  have  been  coming 
up  by  thousands  and  there  is  a  prospect  that  they 
will  continue  to  do  so  for  many  years  to  come. 
Elsewhere  I  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  seeds 
sometimes  fall  before  they  are  mature  and  that 
they  no  doubt  ripen  afterwards  while  lying  in  the 
ground.  This  is  probably  the  case  with  Leucena; 
a  few  only  are  ripe  when  they  fall  and  they  at 
once  come  up,  while  the  rest  slowly  mature  and 
grow  through  a  long  series  of  years. 

I  have  noticed  a  curious  thing  in  connection 
with  the  germination  of  the  seeds  of  our  wild 
papaw.  When  I  first  occupied  my  home  it  did  not 
grow  in  my  hammock  but  in  a  year  or  two  an 
immense  number  of  seedlings  sprang  up  which  in 
two  or  three  years  became  small  trees  and  bore 
abundant  fruit.  As  it  is  short  lived  the  plants 
quickly  matured  and  began  to  die,  so  in  a  few  years 
not  one  could  be  found.  The  seeds  which  pro- 
duced this  crop  of  trees  were  undoubtedly  in  the 
ground  when  I  came,  and  had  sprung  from  a 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA        161 

former  set  of  plants.  Either  the  conditions  had 
been  unfavorable  for  their  germination  or  the 
seeds  may  have  been  immature.  It  is  probable 
that  in  the  near  future  there  will  be  another  crop. 
The  same  thing  is  true  of  Trema  floridana,  another 
of  our  small,  short-lived  trees,  and  perhaps  of  some 
others.  Our  common  swamp  magnolia  (supposed 
to  be  Magnolia  glauca)  grows  to  be  a  large  tree  and 
produces  seed  abundantly,  but  while  the  parent 
lives  one  rarely  sees  a  young  plant  under  or  about 
it.  As  soon  as  it  dies  a  host  of  seedlings  come  up, 
closely  filling  the  space  where  it  stood,  and  for  a 
series  of  years  a  battle  royal  takes  place  between 
the  young  trees.  The  stronger  gradually  choke 
out  the  weaker  ones  and  eventually  two  or  three 
overcome  all  the  rest,  or  it  may  be  that  only  a 
single  victor  will  survive,  to  occupy  the  site  of  the 
former  tree. 

There  are  a  number  of  plants  found  in  the 
Homestead  country  in  Dade  County  not  known 
from  any  other  part  of  the  United  States.  Among 
these  is  the  beautiful  Tetrazygia  bicolor,  a  shrub  of 
the  fire-swept  pine  woods  but  becoming  a  small 
tree  in  the  protected  hammocks.  It  belongs  to 
the  Melastomaceae,  a  family  which  has  its  metropo- 


162  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

lis  in  the  American  tropics  but  is  feebly  repre- 
sented with  us.  When  covered  with  its  great 
heads  of  white  blossoms  it  is  one  of  our  finest 
ornamentals.  Besides  this  there  is  the  myrtle- 
of-the-river  (Calyptranthes  zuzygium),  Alvaradoa 
amorphoides,  a  few  other  trees,  and  a  variety  of 
herbaceous  plants,  including  a  number  of  ferns.  A 
lovely  Cuban  vine  (Ipomcea  fuchsioides)  with  large 
crimson  flowers  scrambles  over  the  rocks  and 
sometimes  the  low  trees  and  shrubs.  The  seeds 
of  all  these  may  have  drifted  in  and  gained  a  foot- 
hold on  the  rocky  ridge  at  a  time  when  the  great 
brackish  swamp  lying  to  the  southeast  of  Home- 
stead was  wholly  under  water  and  before  the  final 
elevation  of  the  Upper  Keys. 

It  is  possible  that  our  streams,  short  and  narrow 
as  they  are,  sometimes  act  as  barriers  to  north  or 
south  migration  of  certain  of  our  plants.  Cera- 
tiola  ericoides  and  Bejaria  racemosa,  two  large 
shrubs  common  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State, 
extend  to  Little  River  but  do  not  occur  south  of 
it;  nor  does  the  laurel  oak  which  has  a  somewhat 
similar  distribution.  An  appreciable  number  of 
tropical  plants  do  not  pass  north  of  the  Miami 
River,  such  as  Lysiloma  bahamensis,  Drypetes 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA       163 

keyensis,  Exostema  carib&um,  the  Jamaica  dog- 
wood, and  several  others.  As  these  streams  all 
rise  in  the  Everglades  and  empty  into  the  sea  the 
plants  cannot  migrate  around  them.  The  water 
alone  does  not  prevent  their  passing,  but  the  low 
hammock  and  swamp  on  each  side  of  it  may  do 
so. 

To  this  it  may  be  objected  that  as  the  birds  eat 
the  drupes  and  berries  of  many  of  our  hammock 
trees  and  shrubs,  ejecting  the  seeds  undigested, 
the  watercourses  could  form  no  barrier  to  their 
flight.  But  I  have  found  that  in  almost  every  case 
where  the  streams  seem  to  limit  the  distribution  of 
plants  their  seeds  are  not  such  as  would  be  carried 
by  birds.  Those  of  the  dogwood  are  winged;  of 
the  crabwood,  Bejaria,  Ceratiola,  and  some  others 
are  contained  in  capsules  and  the  Lysiloma  bears 
beanlike  seeds  in  pods.  Probably  nearly  all  of 
these  are  eaten  by  birds  but  the  seeds  are  of  the 
digestible  sort. 

Of  course  climate  acts  as  a  check  to  the  northern 
or  southern  distribution  of  many  forms,  there 
being  a  limit  of  heat  or  cold  which  they  cannot 
endure,  and  these  climatic  boundaries  seem  to  be 
sometimes  coincident  with  the  watercourses. 


1 64  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Finally,  there  are  the  adventive  plants,  the 
wanderers,  of  which  we  have,  as  yet,  comparatively 
few  species;  but  later,  when  the  country  is  older 
and  more  generally  cultivated,  there  will  surely 
be  an  army  of  them.  The  railroad  beds  are  regular 
propagation  gardens  for  foreign  plants,  but  not 
always  of  a  helpful  kind,  for  trains  bring  in  seeds 
which,  for  the  most  part,  belong  to  injurious  or 
objectional  species.  Others  come  on  clothing,  in 
automobiles  or  steamers,  the  latter  bringing  most 
of  our  exotic  plant  tramps.  Some  of  these  are  the 
vilest  weeds;  a  few  have  no  decided  characters  for 
good  or  evil  and  one  or  two  are  beneficial.  The 
sand  burs  (Cenchrus),  beggar's  ticks  (Bidens),  and 
the  Boerhaavia,  with  oval  crimped  leaves  and  airy 
panicles  of  minute  purple  flowers,  are  not  only 
undesirable  weeds  but  they  all  bear  the  meanest 
kind  of  burs.  Our  northern  fleabane  (Erigeron 
canadensis)  is  beginning  to  creep  in,  so  are  the 
ragweed  (Ambrosia),  the  common  purslane  (Por- 
tulacca),  and  a  couple  of  Chenopodiums.  The 
pepper  grass  (Lepidium  mrginicum)  is  getting  to  be 
common  along  the  roadsides  and  it  is  a  not  un- 
welcome immigrant  with  its  pleasant,  peppery- 
tasting  pods.  The  rapidity  with  which  some  of 


THE  PLANTING  OF  OUR  FLORA       165 

these  introduced  plants  spread  is  amazing.  Let  a 
new  road  be  opened  through  the  virgin  forest  and 
sand  burs,  beggar's  ticks,  Sidas,  and  Sporobalus — 
the  latter  a  useless  grass  from  India — will  form  a 
border  along  it  in  a  single  season.  I  elsewhere 
mention  the  beautiful  Natal  grass  (Tricholsena), 
which  is  coming  in  rapidly  and  promises  to  be  a 
valuable  forage  plant. 

Not  far  from  my  home  is  an  extensive  rock  pit 
which  has  been  abandoned  over  a  year.  It  is 
located  in  the  pine  woods  at  some  distance  from 
any  habitation  or  road,  save  the  one  over  which 
rock  was  hauled  away.  Within  it  I  counted  more 
than  sixty  well-established  species  of  plants,  over 
one  third  of  which  were  adventive.  The  seeds 
had  been  wind-borne ;  rains  may  have  washed  in  a 
few;  wild  animals  and  birds  had  carried  some  more, 
and  doubtless  some  had  been  brought  by  the  teams 
and  wagons  that  did  the  hauling. 

In  the  parable  of  the  sower  some  seeds  fell  by 
the  wayside  and  the  fowls  devoured  them;  some 
were  cast  on  stony  places  to  wither  and  die. 
Other  seeds  were  sown  among  thorns  and  were 
choked,  but  still  others  fell  in  good  ground  and 
brought  forth  thirty,  sixty,  even  an  hundred  fold. 


1 66  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

So  it  is  with  nature's  planting.  Millions  of  seeds 
of  dry-land  plants  are  washed  into  swamps  and 
other  millions  of  those  of  marsh  plants  are  trans- 
ported to  dry  ground.  Others  are  thrown  on  rocks 
or  upon  salty  sand  dunes  only  to  die,  while  count- 
less others  perish  from  cold,  insects,  and  number- 
less causes.  But  those  of  the  noble  pines,  the  saw 
palmettos,  and  of  the  trees  in  the  glorious  ham- 
mocks have  certainly  fallen  into  good  ground  and 
have  brought  forth  thirty,  sixty,  and  even  an  hun- 
dred fold. 


CHAPTER  VHI 
XKe  Lxire  of  tHe  Piney  "Woods 

TO  most  people  our  pine  forests  are  mono- 
tonous to  the  point  of  dreariness,  for 
there  is  an  endless  repetition  of  a  single 
form  of  tree  until  the  eye  wearies  of  it. 
Along  our  eastern  border  the  ground  is  covered 
with  two  species  of  low-growing  palmettos,  three 
or  four  of  small  oaks,  and  quite  a  variety  of  shrubs 
and  herbaceous  plants.     A  thorny,  woody  smilax 
creeps  over  much  of  it,  often  binding  the  vegeta- 
tion together  until  it  is  impossible  to  penetrate 
the  dense  growth,  and  it  sometimes  climbs  well 
up  the  pines.     In  the  same  part  of  our  region  a 
small  palmetto  is  also  found  on  the  rocky  ridges 
in  considerable   abundance.     This  is   known   as 
the  silver  palm   (Coccothrinax  garberi),  a  lovely 
species  with  rich,  glossy,  deep  green  leaves  having 
a  wonderful  satinlike  under  surface.     Here  and 
there  are  lofty,  gaunt  dead  trees  with  crooked, 
167 


168  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

ragged  limbs,  decidedly  striking  and  picturesque, 
but  not  at  all  beautiful.  These  dead  pines  are  the 
favorite  resorts  for  mocking  birds,  from  which  lofty 
perches  they  pour  forth  their  clear,  strong  music. 

It  might  indeed  seem  that  there  could  be  neither 
interest  nor  beauty  in  so  desolate  a  region,  but  to 
him  who  has  eyes  and  ears  trained  to  see  and  hear 
and  whose  senses  are  responsive  to  Nature's  less 
clamorous  appeals  the  pine  forest  teaches  some 
fascinating  lessons.  Here,  since  the  land  was 
elevated  above  the  ocean,  a  constant  battle  has 
raged  for  place  and  for  the  chance  to  live  and 
reproduce. 

It  is  probable  that  shortly  after  the  first  eleva- 
tion of  our  area  in  Pleistocene  time  the  seeds  of 
our  common  pine  (Pinus  caribcea}  were  deposited 
on  the  higher  land  and  the  forest  established.  The 
seeds  are  winged  and  are  carried  to  considerable 
distances  by  strong  winds.  It  is  commonly  sup- 
posed that  ours  is  the  same  as  the  Georgia  pine, 
but  though  closely  related  and  resembling  it,  it  is 
really  different.  This  tree  is  the  Caribbean  or 
slash  pine.  It  inhabits  the  Bahamas,  several  of 
the  West  India  islands,  Central  America,  and,  in 
the  United  States,  the  southern  end  of  Florida  and 


Upper  View.     Pine  Woods  near  Home  of  the  Author 

Photo  by  Prof.  F.   G.  Smith 

Lower  View.     Different  Stages  of  Growth  of  Dwarfed  Cabbage  Palmetto  (Sabal 

palmetto),   Plant  on   Left  Just   Beginning   to   Bend   Over;    Second   Plant 

Having  Formed  a  Loop;  Third  Plant  Beginning  to  Show  Character 

Leaves;  Fourth  Plant  Fully  Developed 

Photo  by  T.  E.   Clements 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS     169 

the  coasts  to  Louisiana  and  South  Carolina. 
Whether  our  stock  came  originally  from  the  tropics 
or  developed  from  the  long-leaved  Georgia  pine  I 
cannot  say. 

As  soon  as  the  pine  forests  were  established  in 
our  region,  seeds  of  palmettos  and  of  many  species 
of  shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants  found  their 
way  in  and  germinated,  until  the  ground  was 
densely  covered  with  undergrowth.  As  old  trees 
died  conditions  became  perfect  for  a  conflagration. 
During  a  dry  time  some  dead  tree  was  struck  by 
lightning  and  set  afire.  In  dead  pines  the  sap- 
wood  becomes  very  light  and  corky  and  burns 
slowly  like  punk,  retaining  fire  a  long  time.  The 
bark  burns  more  readily  and  with  the  decaying 
sapwood  easily  falls  off.  The  heartwood  under- 
neath is  a  mass  of  pitch,  ready  to  flame  up  in  an 
instant  and  once  started  it  burns  for  a  long  time 
with  intense  heat.  On  the  ground  under  the  tree 
there  is  usually  a  lot  of  highly  inflammable  dead 
bark  and  rubbish  and  the  palmettos  everywhere 
about  burn  like  oil.  Once  started  an  all-con- 
suming relentless  fire  is  certain  to  rage  through 
the  forest,  progressing  by  leaps  and  bounds  if 
there  is  a  strong  wind. 


iyo          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

No  doubt  the  first  conflagration  that  raged 
through  the  lower  Florida  pine  woods  w/ought 
terrible  havoc  and  many  species  of  plants  were 
completely  destroyed.  Of  some  perhaps  a  few 
specimens  in  places  less  exposed  to  the  heat  sur- 
vived. Since  the  pines  have  lived  in  fire-swept 
areas  from  the  very  first,  many  young  ones  must 
necessarily  have  escaped  fatal  injury,  and  the 
same  must  be  equally  true  regarding  other  plants 
living  in  such  situations. 

Undoubtedly  lightning  fired  the  forest  long 
before  human  beings  inhabited  the  region.  Then 
came  prehistoric  man,  later  the  Indian,  and  at  last 
the  Caucasian.  At  all  events  it  is  almost  certain 
that  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  forest,  fires 
have  swept  through  it  at  intervals  of  a  few  years. 
I  have  seen  such  fires  during  a  drought  period 
rush  through  the  pines  before  a  furious  wind  with 
the  speed  of  a  horse.  The  fire  leaps  to  the  tops  of 
the  tallest  trees  and  with  a  hissing  burst  of  red 
flame  consumes  their  leaves.  Young  pines  fully 
eight  inches  in  diameter  may  be  killed  outright. 
All  herbaceous  and  shrubby  vegetation  is  in- 
stantly devoured,  including  the  oily  leaves  of  the 
palmettos ;  only  their  charred  stems  are  left.  Large 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS     171 

trees,  apparently  sound  and  healthy,  but  having 
some  dead  or  weak  spot  in  their  trunks,  are  toppled 
over  and  destroyed. 

It  must  be  evident  that  no  plant  of  any  kind 
can  live  through  such  an  ordeal  without  extra- 
ordinary luck  or  some  special  means  of  protection. 
The  bark  of  the  pines  is  very  thick  and  is  likely 
an  excellent  non-conductor.  The  leaves  are  long 
and  clustered  around  the  buds;  although  they 
contain  resin  they  do  not  burn  readily,  and  often 
under  the  heat  of  an  ordinary  fire  they  are  scarcely 
singed.  I  have  seen  young  trees  not  a  foot  high, 
over  which  a  fire  had  recently  passed,  the  outer 
leaves  of  which  looked  exactly  as  though  they 
had  been  scalded,  while  the  plant  itself  was 
wholly  uninjured. 

In  what  is  called  the  Homestead  country  the 
pine  forest  consists  of  tall,  slender,  straight  trees, 
of  rather  small  size  and  set  closely  together.  They 
look  so  different  from  the  trees  of  the  Miami  region 
that  they  are  quite  commonly  supposed  to  be  a 
different  species.  The  reason  for  this  difference 
in  appearance  is  because  in  Lower  Bade  com- 
paratively little  undergrowth  exists  on  the  very 
rocky  forest  floor,  hence  the  fires  are  much  more 


172  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

moderate  and  but  few  young  pines  are  destroyed. 
As  a  consequence  they  are  slender  and  straight 
and  grow  closer  together.  '  In  the  Miami  area,  on 
the  contrary  the  ground  is  covered  with  dense 
undergrowth  and  most  of  the  young  pines  are 
killed.  The  few  that  do  survive  form  an  open 
forest  and  with  room  to  grow  they  become  large, 
rugged,  and  gnarled. 

Anyone  inspecting  a  pine  woods  after  a  severe 
fire  would  be  certain  that  every  vestige  of  vege- 
tation was  utterly  destroyed.  Nothing  is  left 
but  a  few  burnt  stems;  blackness  and  desolation 
are  seen  on  every  hand.  With  the  exception  of 
some  larger  pines  everything  seems  to  be  dead. 
But  visit  the  forest  a  fortnight  later  and  young 
tender  growth  is  springing  up  everywhere.  Grass 
is  peeping  through  the  ashes  and  charred  debris 
and  little  green  leaves  are  smiling  amid  the  ruins. 
Look  carefully  at  the  bases  of  small  oaks  and 
other  shrubs  and  see  the  young  shoots  beginning 
to  grow  just  at  the  ground  or  a  little  below  the 
surface.  Now  the  vital  part  of  all  these  plants  is 
safely  hidden  below  the  surface  of  the  earth.  This 
is  the  lesson  which  has  been  forced  upon  the 
dwellers  of  the  inflammable  pine  belt, — a  lesson  that 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS     173 

cost  many  thousands  of  lives  in  the  learning. 
The  plants  of  the  pine  woods  must  bury  all  that 
is  essential  to  their  existence  down  where  the  heat 
cannot  injure  it,  or  if  it  is  above  ground  it  must  be 
fire-proof! 

Some  of  these  plants  have  thick  underground 
stems,  such  as  the  comptie  (Zamia  Jloridana), 
with  its  large  parsniplike  roots.  It  is  a  dioecious 
plant,  blooming  in  winter  and  spring,  just  when 
the  forests  are  most  subject  to  fires.  It  probably 
cannot  change  its  period  of  blossoming  to  a  less 
dangerous  season  but  it  has  developed  an  efficient 
device  for  protecting  its  flowers  and  fruit  from  the 
fire.  These  are  contained  in  a  large  reddish  brown 
cone,  the  outside  of  which  is  padded  with  thick, 
velvety,  peltate  plates  with  the  edges  set  closely 
together;  each  is  supported  by  a  stout  stem  spring- 
ing from  the  central  one.  The  flowers  are  at- 
tached to  the  inside  of  these  plates  and  when  they 
develop  the  latter  spread  a  little  apart  to  enable 
the  necessary  exchange  of  pollen.  At  the  time  of 
blooming,  if  a  fire  sweeps  the  forest  these  thick 
plates  close  tightly  together.  They  are  doubtless 
excellent  non-conductors  and  as  the  cones  are  close 
to  the  ground  it  is  rarely  they  suffer  fatal  injury. 


174  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

When  the  large,  oval,  indigestible  seeds  ripen 
and  fall  to  the  ground  they  are  covered  with  a 
lovely  orange  or  scarlet  pulp  enclosed  in  a  glossy 
sac.  This  bright  color  attracts  gophers  and 
various  small  wood  animals  and  possibly  certain 
birds  that  relish  the  pulp.  Thus  a  means  of  dis- 
tribution is  also  provided. 

This  plant  is  a  very  old-fashioned  one.  It  is  in 
fact  a  member  of  an  order  (Cycadaceae)  which 
belongs  to  the  distant  past.  The  group  first 
appeared  in  the  Devonian  and  reached  the  apex  of 
its  development  in  the  Mesozoic,  when  these 
plants  were  so  abundant  that  the  period  is  some- 
times called  the  "Age  of  Cycads."  From  then 
on,  the  order  decreased  until  now  only  about  a 
hundred  species  exist,  all  inhabiting  the  warmer 
parts  of  the  earth.  The  leaves  are  pinnate,  usually 
rolled  up  when  young  and  uncoiling  as  they 
develop,  after  the  manner  of  fern  fronds.  The 
stamens  and  pistils  are  nude,  there  being  no  other 
parts  to  the  primitive  flowers,  and  finally  the  seeds 
are  destitute  of  envelopes.  Two  species  of  the 
order  inhabit  Lower  Florida,  Zamia  pumila  and  Z. 
ftoridana,  and  both  have  the  seeds  attached  to  the 
inside  of  shieldlike  plates  as  just  described. 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS     175 

In  order  to  protect  itself  from  the  fires  the  saw 
palmetto  grows  in  an  almost  absolutely  prostrate 
position,  often  with  the  lower  half  of  its  stems  buried 
in  the  ground.  The  upper  or  exposed  parts  of 
these  stems  are  so  thickly  covered  with  "boots" 
(the  bases  of  the  old  leaf  stalks)  that  fire  cannot 
harm  them.  Only  the  growing  point  turns  up- 
ward and  it  is  protected  by  the  bases  of  the  living 
leaves  and  an  almost  fireproof  netting.  In  the 
pine  land  along  the  borders  of  swamps  these  pal- 
mettos reach  a  great  size  and  length,  their  growing 
ends  always  pointing  in  the  direction  of  the  low 
land.  As  they  push  on  along  the  ground  they 
often  fork  and  crawl  over  or  under  each  other. 
This  can  best  be  observed  after  a  severe  fire,  for 
then  all  the  other  vegetation  is  burned  away.  I 
never  look  at  them  at  such  a  time  without  fancying 
that  they  are  a  lot  of  sleeping  alligators,  their  scaly 
backs  completing  the  illusion,  and  I  half  expect  to 
see  them  wake  with  the  slightest  noise  and  rush 
into  the  swamp.  In  the  lowland,  where  there  is 
practically  no  danger  of  fire,  this  palm  usually 
grows  half  erect,  and  in  wet  ground  it  becomes 
actually  treelike,  attaining  a  height  of  fifteen 
feet. 


176  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

The  silver  palm  has  the  growing  bud  closely 
covered  not  only  with  the  bases  of  the  leaves  but 
also  with  a  strong  netting  of  clothlike  fiber  for 
the  purpose  of  supporting  the  young  foliage.  This 
fiber  is  almost  as  fire-resistant  as  asbestos.  The 
trunk — for  it  sometimes  becomes  a  small  tree — 
is  covered  with  a  hard,  corky  thick  bark,  which 
also  furnishes  an  excellent  protection  against 
heat. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  plants  of  the  pine 
woods  is  a  stemless  palm  with  stout  leaf  stalks  and 
heavy,  fan-shaped  leaves  having  midribs  strongly 
recurved  (Sabal  megacarpa).  It  begins  life  like 
any  ordinary  palm  by  sending  up  a  few  slender, 
entire  leaves.  Then  the  base  of  about  the  third 
leaf  bends  back  into  the  ground  and  then  suddenly 
turns  upward,  forming  a  blade  above  the  ground. 
The  lower  part  of  the  next  leaf  in  like  manner 
turns,  going  still  deeper  into  the  soil  and  then 
ascends.  About  this  time  the  little  stem  abruptly 
changes  its  direction  and  grows  almost  vertically 
back  into  the  earth,  leaving  a  blunt  stub  at  the 
point  where  it  turned.  As  the  plant  grows  the 
stem  goes  deeper  and  deeper  and  the  leaves  come 
up  from  the  buried  point,  the  stem  always  re- 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS  177 

maining  well  below  the  surface.  It  sends  up 
flower  stems  which  under  favorable  circumstances 
reach  a  height  of  four  or  five  feet. 

In  other  words,  this  strange  plant  begins  life  as 
an  ordinary  palm,  just  as  though  it  were  going  to 
become  a  tree,  but  at  an  early  stage  of  growth  the 
elongating  trunk  turns  and  grows  the  wrong  way; 
it  actually  backs  down  into  the  earth  until  it  some- 
times reaches  a  depth  of  sixteen  inches,  and  only 
sending  up  its  leaves  and  flower  stems  above  the 
ground.  Ordinarily  the  growing  point  is  eight 
inches  to  a  foot  below  the  surface.  In  grubbing 
new  land  this  big  stem,  filled  with  starchy  matter, 
is  not  reached  at  all  with  the  grub  hoe.  The 
leaves  are  cut  but  new  ones  constantly  spring  up, 
and  in  order  to  kill  the  persistent  plant  an  iron  rod 
must  be  thrust  down  into  the  growing  bud  and  a 
little  kerosene  poured  in.  If  fire  is  kept  out  of 
the  pine  woods  for  several  years  these  same  palms, 
with  confidence  inspired,  begin  to  grow  into  trees. 
This  is  especially  true  where  they  are  left  standing 
in  cultivated  ground.  In  such  cases  they  soon 
form  a  strong,  erect  trunk  and  develop  into  the 
ordinary  cabbage  palmettos  ! 

This  strange  habit  of  growth  is  but  a  device  to 


178  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

protect  the  plant  from  destruction  by  fire.  Of 
course,  the  very  young  seedlings  are  in  some  dan- 
ger before  they  can  burrow  into  the  earth  but  they 
usually  come  up  during  the  rainy  season,  when 
that  risk  is  very  slight.  As  a  baseball  friend  put 
it,  "they  beat  it  to  first"  before  dry  weather  comes 
on.  This  palm  has  been  made  a  species  separate 
from  the  ordinary  cabbage  palmetto  partly  on 
account  of  this  peculiar  manner  of  growth.  It  is 
only  a  depauperate  form  of  that  tree  with  an 
abnormal  growth  habit  wholly  the  result  of  un- 
favorable environment. 

As  further  evidence  of  this  special  adaptation  to 
fire,  one  may  find  in  the  edges  of  the  hammocks, 
where  the  danger  from  fire  is  greatly  lessened, 
plants  with  flattened,  prostrate  stems,  and  a  little 
farther  in,  the  same  plants  rise  at  various  angles. 
Still  deeper  in  the  hammocks  I  cannot  separate 
them  from  the  ordinary  cabbage  palmettos.  This 
strange  reversed  growth  is  seen  in  a  number  of  our 
cultivated  Sabals  and  in  a  few  other  palms,  show- 
ing that  they  also  have  had  to  defend  themselves 
from  fire  in  their  native  prairies  or  savannahs. 
The  dwarf  Sabal  has  larger  seeds  than  the  cabbage 
palmetto,  a  fact  also  used  as  a  character  in  separat- 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS     179 

ing  it  specifically  from  the  tree  form.  It  is  well 
known  however  that  the  seeds  of  many  depau- 
perate plants  are  larger  than  those  of  well-nourished 
specimens.  For  example,  Ximenia  americana 
grows  in  our  pineland  and  hammocks;  in  the  for- 
mer as  a  low,  stunted  shrub  where  it  is  burnt  off 
in  every  fire,  but  in  the  latter  as  a  slender  tree 
where  it  is  protected.  It  has  a  yellow  drupe,  larger 
on  the  stunted  half -burnt  bushes  than  on  the  well- 
developed  trees.  However  loath  I  am  to  reduce 
our  list  of  Florida  palms  it  seems  necessary  to 
strike  this  one  from  it. 

A  forest  fire  at  night  is  a  most  impressive  and 
terrible  sight,  especially  if  it  is  fanned  to  fury  by  a 
high  wind.  Great  masses  of  detached  flame  leap  to 
the  very  tree  tops.  There  is  an  incessant  crackle 
and  popping  as  the  palmetto  leaves  catch,  with 
now  and  then  a  report  like  the  firing  of  a  gun. 
The  blaze  rushes  up  the  trunks  of  the  trees,  often 
into  their  crowns.  An  occasional  pine  once 
injured,  though  apparently  healthy,  may  have 
from  a  scar  an  ooze  of  pitch  clear  down  to  the  base 
of  the  stem.  This  the  fire  attacks  with  incon- 
ceivable fury.  Within  the  scar  the  wood  is  usually 
decayed,  and  soon  the  doomed  tree  falls  with  its 


i8o  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

green  head  to  the  blackened  earth,  "dying  with 
its  boots  on,"  as  one  might  say. 

The  fire  sweeps  on,  now  over  one  of  the  low» 
rocky  ridges,  and  is  rushing  through  the  lovely 
silver  palms.  Their  leaves  are  crackling  like  the 
roll  of  drums  but  their  stems  withstand  the  on- 
slaught. Although  sadly  disfigured  they  really 
come  through  the  ordeal  as  safely  as  did  Shadrach 
and  his  friends  from  the  fiery  furnace  of  old. 

The  tall  dead  trees  are  ablaze  the  instant  the 
flame  touches  them,  and  if  the  weather  is  dry  they 
may  continue  to  burn  for  weeks,  in  which  case  they 
stand  as  pillars  of  fire  by  night  and  of  cloud  by 
day.  These  fires  destroy  nearly  all  the  vegetable 
humus  on  the  forest  floor  and  about  all  that  is 
left  of  it  is  some  ash.  The  soil  is  thus  kept  very 
poor  and  thin  and  to  some  extent  this  prevents  the 
hammock  vegetation  from  getting  a  foothold. 
Roland  Harper  and  E.  F.  Andrews  have  shown 
that  were  it  not  for  the  forest  fires  the  long-leaved 
pine  (Pinus  palustris)  would  be  driven  out  by 
other  growths,  and  I  am  sure  this  is  also  true  of 
our  Caribbean  pine. 

Some  of  the  small  oaks  which  inhabit  the  pine 
forest  would  become  arboreal  but  for  the  fact  that 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS    181 

they  are  usually  burnt  off  about  the  time  they 
begin  to  assume  treehood.  One  of  these  is  only  a 
shrub  at  best,  as  it  rarely  attains  a  height  of  a 
couple  of  feet.  Yet  it  bears  fine,  dark-colored 
acorns  sometimes  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in 
diameter,  and  the  crop  is  occasionally  so  heavy 
that  the  little  stem  bends  under  the  load.  It  is 
the  Quercus  minima,  most  aptly  named,  and  having 
spiny  leaves  like  those  of  holly.  This  species  is 
one  of  the  smallest  of  the  genus  while  the  live  oak, 
common  throughout  our  territory,  becomes  under 
favorable  circumstances  our  largest  tree.  Speci- 
mens sometimes  have  a  trunk  diameter  of  five  feet, 
and  one  of  them  in  the  Paradise  Key  hammock 
has  a  crown  that  measures  two  hundred  and  eight 
feet  across. 

Among  the  herbaceous  plants  found  in  the  pine 
woods  is  a  slender,  unarmed  vine  so  abundant  in 
places  that  it  completely  covers  the  low  scrub.  It 
looks  much  like  one  of  the  dodders  common  through- 
out the  temperate  parts  of  the  United  States. 
Its  leaves  are  but  minute  scales,  its  whitish  flowers 
are  in  small  clusters ;  it  grows  in  dense  mats ;  it  is 
a  parasite.  The  dodders  have  all  these  characters 
but  are  unrelated  to  our  creeper.  Ours  is  a  bo- 


1 82  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

tanical  celebrity  and  a  veritable  globe  trotter.  It 
grows  all  over  the  warmer  parts  of  America,  Poly- 
nesia, Asia,  Africa,  and  Australia.  Formerly 
placed  by  botanists  in  the  Laurel  family,  now, 
perhaps  on  account  of  its  notoriety,  it  is  made  the 
representative  of  a  separate  group,  the  Cassy- 
thaceae,  and  ours  is  the  Cassytha  filiformis.  The 
fruit  is  a  sort  of  drupe  eagerly  devoured  by  birds, 
and  the  hard,  indigestible  seeds  are  thus  dispersed. 
The  whole  fruit  is  also  very  buoyant,  keeping  its 
vitality  a  long  time  in  salt  water,  so  it  has  two 
very  efficient  means  of  distribution.  Its  seeds 
usually  fall  to  the  earth  and  germinate  after  the 
manner  of  ordinary  seeds,  and  the  vine  itself 
sometimes  lives  out  its  life  as  ordinary  normal 
vegetation  does.  But  if  any  weeds  or  shrubs  grow 
near  it  the  little  Cassytha  vine  creeps  towards 
them  along  the  ground  until  it  can  lay  hold  of 
one  of  their  stems  and  begin  to  twine  up  it.  As  it 
does  so  it  emits  little  rootlets  which  penetrate  the 
host  and  draw  the  already  elaborated  sap  from 
it;  thus  it  changes  into  a  true  parasite,  and  the 
main  stem  which  connects  it  with  the  ground,  now 
useless,  decays.  The  growth  of  the  dodders  takes 
place  in  precisely  the  same  manner. 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS  183 

In  the  higher,  drier  parts  of  the  forest  one 
occasionally  sees  low,  sandy  mounds  from  one  to 
two  feet  high  and  ten  to  fifteen  feet  across.  For  a 
long  time  I  was  uncertain  as  to  what  these  were, 
though  I  felt  sure  they  were  artificial.  I  had  seen 
gopher  mounds  up  the  State  which  somewhat 
resembled  these  but  I  was  unaware  that  this 
animal  came  so  far  south.  I  was  also  puzzled  to 
account  for  animal  burrows  in  almost  solid  rock. 
One  day  I  found  that  I  could  thrust  a  sharpened 
iron  rod  down  four  feet  anywhere  in  one  of  the 
mounds  and,  indeed,  for  some  distance  around  it. 
Another  time  I  found  a  large  dead  gopher  in  the 
pine  woods  near  my  home.  This  is  not  the  animal 
which  bears  that  familiar  name  in  our  western 
states  but  is  a  large  land  tortoise  (Xerobates  poly- 
phemus)  which  has  very  strong  forelimbs  to 
enable  it  to  excavate  its  immense  burrows. 

The  mystery  was  solved;  the  gopher  is  a  resi- 
dent of  Bade  County.  Since  then  I  have  seen  its 
mounds  in  other  places  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Miami  and  also  at  Cape  Sable.  As  a  rule  the 
limestone  in  this  region  comes  to  the  surface  and 
the  only  sand  to  be  found  is  that  which  fills  the 
pot  holes.  At  long  intervals  solution  has  been  so 


184  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

great  that  depressions  have  been  formed  which 
filled  with  sand  at  the  time  of  the  filling  of  the 
many  pot  holes.  It  is  in  these  "sand  seeps,"  as 
they  are  called,  that  the  gopher  makes  its  home  in 
our  rocky  pinelands.  But  how  can  the  creature 
find  these  sand  seeps,  for  to  all  appearances  the 
forest  floor,  covered  with  dense  scrub,  is  every- 
where alike?  It  must  have  the  guidance  of  some 
special  sense  which  distinguishes  between  rock 
and  sand  hidden  beneath  the  surface. 

Bartram  writing  of  this  tortoise  in  1791  said: 
' '  When  arrived  at  its  greatest  magnitude  the  upper 
shell  is  near  eighteen  inches  in  length  and  ten  or 
twelve  in  breadth."  Mr.  H.  C.  Hubbard  has 
excavated  several  of  their  burrows  near  Crescent 
City,  Florida,  and  finds  the  galleries  eighteen  to 
twenty  feet  long  in  the  sandy  ridges  remote  from 
water.  They  descend  in  a  straight  course  at  an 
angle  of  35°,  terminating  abruptly  at  a  depth  of 
eight  or  nine  feet  below  the  surface.  He  states 
that  after  excavating  several  feet  he  found  the 
walls  fairly  alive  with  a  wingless  cricket  of  the  genus 
Ceuthophilus.  Farther  on  he  found  immense 
numbers  of  larvae  and  imagoes  of  a  small  beetle, 
and  in  all  he  obtained  no  less  than  thirteen  species 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS    185 

of  insects  living  with  the  gophers,  of  which  seven 
proved  new  to  science.  All  of  these  are  strictly 
subterranean  in  habit;  with  them  is  sometimes 
found  a  toad.  How  little  do  we  know  of  the  lives 
of  most  of  the  wild  creatures!  They  all  have 
interesting  life  histories,  but  alas!  many  of  them 
are  already  extinct  and  others  soon  will  be. 

The  rocky  floor  of  the  woods  is  exceedingly 
rough  and  irregular,  in  fact  it  appears  in  places 
as  though  it  had  been  dynamited  in  every  direction. 
The  surface  consists  of  loose  masses  of  rock  of  all 
sizes  up  to  pieces  weighing  several  hundred 
pounds.  This  is  mixed  with  a  small  quantity  of 
soil,  sand,  decaying  wood,  and  other  vegetable 
debris ;  the  whole,  perhaps,  thinly  overgrown  with 
grass  and  low  plants.  In  such  a  foundation  the 
roots  of  the  pines  can  obtain  at  best  but  an  inse- 
cure hold,  even  though  they  begin  their  existence 
in  the  depressions  or  pot  holes.  While  it  is  not 
possible  to  drive  a  tap  root  into  the  solid  rock,  yet 
they  can  push  their  powerful  laterals  sidewise 
through  crevices  in  the  more  or  less  disrupted 
strata.  These  slowly  heave  the  rock  loose,  espe- 
cially when  aided  by  the  high  winds  and  hurri- 
canes which  sway  the  trees.  The  more  the  rock 


1 86  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

is  loosened  the  further  the  roots  penetrate.  So  in 
time  the  tree  becomes  elevated  on  a  sort  of  rocky 
mound  and  as  it  grows  old  its  foothold  becomes 
more  and  more  insecure.  The  prevailing  winds 
in  this  region  are  from  the  southeast  and  as  a  con- 
sequence a  majority  of  the  trees,  especially  near 
the  sea,  lean  more  or  less  in  a  northwesterly  direc- 
tion and  the  greater  part  of  them  fall  in  the  same 
way.  In  time  of  hurricanes  they  may  of  course 
fall  towards  any  point  of  the  compass. 

Whenever  a  tree  falls  its  roots  pry  up  a  quan- 
tity of  rock  and  some  soil,  setting  the  mass  on 
edge.  Sometimes  the  bole  is  lifted  as  much  as  ten 
feet  or  more  and  a  hole  is  left  where  the  roots  grew. 
By  and  by  the  tree  decays  or  is  consumed  by  fire 
and  nothing  remains  but  an  irregular  mound  and 
a  corresponding  depression  beside  it.  Other  trees 
grow  up  to  repeat  at  last  the  mound  building  and 
excavating  process.  Thus  in  time  the  floor  be- 
comes indescribably  rough  and  uneven. 

The  trees  and  the  storms  are  thus  acting  as  a 
great  plow  to  break  up  the  rock  and  turn  it  over 
in  these  rough  and  irregular  furrows ;  the  rains  dis- 
solve it,  and  year  by  year  a  small  amount  of  de- 
cayed wood  and  humus  collects  in  the  depressions. 


Upper  View. 


Uprooted  Pine  Showing  Conical  Mass  of  Roots  Raised  above  Level 
of  Rocky  Floor 


Lower  View.     Uprooted  Pine  Showing  Mass  of  Rock  Torn  up  by  its  Roots 

Both  from  Lower  Dade  Co.   and  Photographed  by   Dr.   John  K.   Small 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS  187 

Could  only  fire  be  kept  from  it  the  floor  of  the 
piney  woods  would  soon  be  covered  with  a  thin 
but  rich  soil  and  the  hammock  growth  would 
creep  in. 

In  some  parts  of  the  forest  there  are  parallel 
rows  of  young  pines,  the  two  being  some  five  or 
six  feet  apart  and  one  naturally  wonders  how  they 
came  to  be  planted  in  this  regular  fashion.  In 
such  places  a  wood  road  formerly  existed  of  which 
no  trace  remains.  In  the  middle  of  it  the  pal- 
mettos and  other  low  vegetation  were  probably 
not  entirely  killed  but  along  the  wheel  tracks  they 
were  completely  destroyed.  The  old  tracks  when 
abandoned  then  became  admirable  seed  beds  for 
the  pines.  I  have  seen  such  trees  a  foot  in  di- 
ameter, still  showing  the  row  formation. 

So  the  battle  of  the  forest  goes  on  year  in  and 
year  out  through  the  long  centuries,  a  strife 
between  the  different  types  of  vegetation  for  a 
place  to  live  and  a  chance  to  multiply.  On  the 
pther  hand  the  fire,  like  a  well-equipped  and  com- 
pletely disciplined  army,  is  the  inveterate  enemy, 
and  it  is  always  ready  to  take  the  field  at  a  mo- 
ment's notice. 

Such  are  the  piney  forests  of  Lower  Florida, 


1 88  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

and  to  him  who  is  in  harmony  with  nature  there 
is  nothing  more  alluring  in  all  the  land.  No  more 
attractive  place  for  the  botanist  can  be  found,  for 
its  floor  is  the  meeting  ground  for  hundreds  of 
small  tropical  plants  and  for  many  others  of  more 
northern  habit.  Here  are  always  beautiful,  odd, 
and  interesting  things  in  blossom  and  they  present 
a  succession  of  rich  color  throughout  the  year. 
There  are  many  beetles,  diptera,  and  orthopters, 
while  butterflies  abound,  especially  along  the 
sunny  borders  between  pineland  and  hammock. 
During  times  of  abundant  rain  immense  numbers 
of  small  land  snails  of  several  species  may  be  found 
on  or  under  the  loose  rocks,  or  even  venturing  for 
a  short  distance  up  the  trunks  of  trees. 

Here  the  forces  of  nature  are  always  active; 
here  is  life  of  the  most  virile  type;  here  birth, 
growth,  death,  and  extermination  are  in  constant 
operation  side  by  side.  Here  are  some  of  nature's 
most  wonderful  devices  for  protection  against  the 
constant  menace  of  the  destroyer — fire;  here  are 
some  of  the  clearest  examples  of  the  survival  of 
the  fittest. 

The  scientific  wonders  of  the  pinelands  are  not 
their  only  lure.  Notwithstanding  the  monotony 


THE  LURE  OF  THE  PINEY  WOODS     189 

of  the  forests  they  possess  an  indefinable  charm 
and  beauty,  and  over  all  is  a  wonderful  and  wholly 
indescribable  atmospheric  effect — a  soft,  evan- 
escent half  haze,  half  glow,  peculiar  to  Florida, 
seen  only  at  its  best  in  the  piney  woods.  Here  the 
partial  shade  of  the  pines  and  the  brilliant  glare  of 
the  sub-tropical  sun  are  merged  and  mellowed 
into  a  softly  glowing  light.  In  every  direction  are 
the  straight,  brown  trunks  of  the  trees,  sharply 
denned  in  the  foreground  but  fading  in  the  dis- 
tance until  they  blend  in  the  haze  and  become  a 
mighty  brown  curtain.  This  wonderful  atmos- 
pheric effect  is  not  that  of  the  northern  smoky 
Indian  Summer.  It  is  more  dreamy  and  ethereal. 
The  very  essence  of  Florida's  soft  and  gentle  cli- 
mate seems  to  have  descended  upon  and  en- 
chanted the  forest  scene. 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Origin  of  the  HammocKs 

IF  fire  that  sometimes  destroys  them  is  in  the 
end  the  friend  of  the  piney  woods  of  Florida, 
it  is  uncompromisingly  the  enemy  of  the 
hammocks.     If  there  were  no  forest  fires 
the  dry  pinelands  would  soon  be  captured  and 
occupied  by  hammock  growth.     I  believe  that  no 
hammock  originates  (in  Lower  Florida  at  least) 
where  there  is  not  some  real  protection  from  forest 
fires. 

The  word  "hammock"  is  generally  applied  in 
Florida  to  the  forests  of  broad-leaved  trees  as  dis- 
tinguished from  pine  woods.  There  are  several 
kinds  of  hammock  in  the  State ;  in  our  part  we  have 
"high"  and  "low"  hammocks  and  each  may  be 
rocky  or  not.  We  also  have  "heavy"  hammock, 
consisting  of  tall,  straight  trees  closely  huddled 
together,  and  "scrub,"  in  which  the  dense  growth 
is  low  and  tangled.  On  the  keys  and  along  the 
190 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     191 

southern  edge  of  the  mainland  the  vegetation  of 
these  hammocks  is  mostly  tropical;  over  the 
balance  of  our  area  it  is  a  mixture  of  tropical  and 
warm  temperate  growths,  or  almost  wholly  tem- 
perate and  warm  temperate.  The  vegetation  of 
the  swamps  and  lowlands  is  less  tropical  than  that 
of  the  corresponding  uplands,  probably  because 
the  soil  in  the  two  former  is  colder. 

The  majority  of  the  fruits  of  our  hammock  trees 
and  shrubs  are  either  berries  or  drupes  (plum-like). 
Generally  these  are  attractive  in  color  and  are 
greatly  relished  by  birds.  In  fact  they  constitute 
for  many  of  them  their  chief  food,  and  a  hammock, 
in  any  region,  always  attracts  great  numbers  of 
birds.  In  eating  the  fruit  they  swallow  the  seeds 
as  well,  which  are  passed  out  undigested  and  with 
their  vitality  unimpaired.  Thus  they  are  scat- 
tered broadcast  in  every  direction — in  the  pine 
woods,  the  swamps — everywhere.  So,  then,  the 
birds  become  horticulturists  and  are  responsible 
for  the  dispersal  of  many  of  our  plants.  Nature 
has  drawn  up  a  contract  between  these  little 
farmers  and  the  trees.  The  latter  must  have 
their  seeds  distributed  and  planted  elsewhere  to 
maintain  and  spread  their  species  and  to  form  new 


192  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

colonies,  but  they  have  no  means  of  their  own  of 
sending  forth  their  seeds.  So  they  resort  to  this 
clever  device;  they  cover  their  indigestible  seeds — 
which  the  birds  would  never  touch — with  a 
coating  of  succulent,  nutritious  pulp  and  they 
paint  the  dainty  morsel  a  bright,  attractive  color 
and  then  say  to  the  birds :  "  If  you  will  plant  our 
seeds  for  us  off  at  a  distance  we  will  pay  by  giving 
you  some  delicious  fruit."  The  offer  is  accepted 
and  the  contract  is  faithfully  carried  out  on  both 
sides. 

Although  the  soil  in  the  pine  woods  is  poor  and 
the  ground  is  generally  covered  with  low  vegeta- 
tion, a  number  of  hammock  plants  would  grow  in 
it  and  become  trees  if  they  had  half  a  chance. 
Near  my  home,  where  there  has  been  no  fire  for 
several  years,  the  following  species  of  broad-leaf 
trees  have  appeared  among  the  pines  and  some  of 
them  have  reached  a  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet : 
Ficus  aurea  and  brevifolia,  the  wild  figs;  Trema 
floridana,  a  short-lived  tree  and  one  of  the  pre- 
cursors of  the  hammocks;  Quercus  virginiana,  the 
live  oak;  Dipholis  salicifolia,  bustic;  the  poison 
wood,  Metopium  metopium;  Pisonia  obtusata  or 
blolly;  Pithecolobium  guadelupensis;  gumbo  limbo 


Upper  View.     Very  Young  Hammock  in  Pine  Woods  near  Residence  of  Author 

Photo  by  Prof.   F.   G.   Smith 

Lower  View.     Young  Hammock  at  Water  Hole  on  Long  Key,  Everglades 

Photo  by  Wilson  Popenoe 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     193 

(Bur sera  gummifera) ;  marlberry  (Icacorea  pani- 
culata);  prickly  ash  (Zanthoxylum  dava-herculis) ; 
sweet  bay  (Per sea  borbonia);  Forstiera  porulosa; 
Lantana  involucrata,  a  large  shrub,  usually  con- 
fined to  the  hammocks,  and  Rapanea  guianensis 
or  myrsine.  To  my  surprise  Ilex  cassine  and 
Baccharis  halimifolia,  two  shrubs  or  small  trees 
which  ordinarily  grow  only  in  low  ground,  were 
also  found  here.  The  bayberry  (Myrica  cerifera)  is 
common  in  low  land,  where  it  often  becomes  quite 
a  tree.  A  form  of  it  grows  in  the  pine  woods  and 
here  it  had  reached  a  height  of  five  feet.  Ximenia 
americana,  sometimes  called  hog  plum,  grows  in 
both  pine  and  hammock  land;  in  the  latter  as  a 
small  tree,  in  the  former  as  a  low  shrub.  Here  it 
was  six  feet  high. 

The  new  hammock  growth  here  is  so  dense  that 
one  entering  it  is  at  once  concealed  and  lost  to 
view.  This  demonstrates  well  enough  that  the 
poor  thin  soil  of  the  pine  woods  is  able  to  support 
hammock  trees  and  also  that  there  is  no  lack  of 
planting.  Usually  the  more  abundant  and  vigor- 
ous hammock  growth  is  on  the  rocky  ridges  and 
not  on  the  level  land.  The  ridges  are  freer  of  other 
growth  and  offer  more  room,  and  fires  are  less 


194  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

severe  upon  them.  *  Everywhere  the  Pithecolo- 
bium  is  by  far  the  most  abundant  shrub  in  the 
incipient  hammock,  and  the  live  oak  is  perhaps  a 
close  second.  A  thorny  shrub  belonging  to  the 
coffee  family,  Randia  aculeata,  having  small, 
glossy  leaves  and  pretty  white  flowers,  is  very 
abundant  on  the  rocky  ridges  where  young  ham- 
mock is  forming  and  in  the  old-established  forest 
south  of  Miami  it  becomes  a  genuine  tree.  I  have 
seen  a  number  of  other  examples  where  hammocks 
began  to  develop  in  pine  woods  less  subject  to  fire. 

On  islands,  where  the  fire  risk  reaches  the 
minimum,  hammock  growth  usually  takes  undis- 
puted possession.  This  is  equally  the  case  on 
peninsulas.  Throughout  much  of  the  territory 
from  Miami  southward  the  floor  of  the  pine  woods 
is  of  that  exceedingly  irregular,  ragged  limestone 
already  described  and  upon  it  the  hammock  growth 
is  forever  seeking  lodgment  but  the  fire  is  sure  to 
come  sooner  or  later.  These  incipient  hammocks 
in  such  exposed,  thin-soiled  regions  never  progress 
beyond  the  stage  of  dwarfed  shrubs. 

Near  the  extreme  lower  end  of  the  mainland  the 
rocky  surface  is  elevated  only  two  or  three  feet 
above  ordinary  high  tide.  Everywhere  are  count- 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     195 

less  water  holes  and  shallow  pits  that  either  con- 
tain water  or  are  always  moist.  Over  much  of 
this  area  hammock  vegetation  has  taken  a  firm 
hold  and  though  not  exempt  from  occasional  fire 
toll,  yet  by  reason  of  the  moisture  and  the  partial 
protection  of  the  surrounding  rocks  it  is  never 
wholly  destroyed.  Here  is  a  list  of  the  more 
abundant  trees  and  shrubs  found  in  this  low, 
rocky  pineland. 

Annona  glabra,  pond  apple. 

Chrysobalanus,  coco  plum,  two  species. 
*  Trema  floridana. 

Diospyros,  sp.  persimmon. 
*Quercus  virginiana,  live  oak. 
*Metopium  metopium,  poison  tree. 

Bursera  gummifera,  gumbo  limbo. 

Ficus  aurea,  wild  fig,  strangler. 

Cephalanthus  occidentalis,  button  bush. 
*Callicarpa  americana,  French  mulberry. 
*Icacorea  paniculata,  marlberry. 
*Myrsine  rapanea,  myrsine. 

Persea  palustris,  sweet  bay. 

Ilex  cassine,  yaupon. 

Ilex  krugiana,  holly. 


196  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Guettardia  elliptica,  velvet  seed. 
*Guettardia  scabra,  rough  velvet  seed. 
*Myrica  cerifera,  bayberry,  wax  myrtle. 
*Byrsonoma  lucida,  locust  berry. 
*Tetrazygia  bicolor. 

Those  marked  with  an  asterisk  are  the  pioneers 
or  precursors  of  the  hammocks  and  indicate  the 
trees  and  shrubs  which  originally  start  the  forest, 
and  also  that  live  on  their  outskirts  and  accept  the 
brunt  of  battles  with  the  fire. 

A  good  many  hammocks  originate  on  the  bay 
shores,  along  the  open  sea,  by  streams,  ponds,  and 
swamps.  Most  of  the  others  develop  beside  the 
deeper  limestone  sinks  in  the  pine  forest. 

I  have  already  described  the  sandy  and  rocky 
ridge  lying  near  the  southeast  coast  of  the  State, 
and  how  near  Florida  City  it  turns  to  the  west- 
ward and  is  broken  into  a  long  chain  of  "islands." 
In  the  lower  part  of  this  ridge  are  numerous  sinks, 
or  "banana  holes"  as  they  are  locally  called,  that 
vary  in  size  from  an  ordinary  pot  hole  to  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  in  extent ;  they  may  be  partly  filled  with 
standing  water.  In  the  pineland  these  sinks  are 
surrounded  by  rank,  coarse  herbage  and  it  is 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     197 

among  these  moist  depressions  that  young  ham- 
mocks are  developed.  They  range  from  a  few 
lonely  struggling  trees  and  shrubs  to  very 
respectable  forests  of  several  hundred  acres.  It  is 
the  best  place  for  studying  hammock  development, 
for  here  may  be  clearly  seen  every  step  of  its 
growth  from  the  very  start  to  the  completed  and 
finished  forest. 

The  banks  of  the  "banana"  holes  or  sinks  may 
be  steep,  or  sloping  and  on  these  damp  walls 
herbaceous  vegetation  grows  lushly  and  by  its 
decay  gradually  forms  a  little  soil.  This  prepares 
the  way  and  thereon  the  hammock  usually  begins 
its  career;  the  first  to  grow  and  become  a  real  tree 
is  generally  a  live  oak. 

This  tree  is  the  Achilles  of  the  hammocks.  It  is 
found  always  in  the  very  front  of  the  firing  line,  a 
determined  and  courageous  fighter.  Its  small 
acorns  must  be  carried  by  forest  animals  and  in 
the  beaks  of  birds,  for  they  are  perfectly  digest- 
ible. One  of  these  reaching  the  sloping  bank  of  a 
sink  and  finding  some  soil  at  once  germinates. 
The  steep  wall  of  the  water  hole  partly  shields  it 
from  the  fiery  implacable  enemy.  One  of  the 
most  rapid  growers  among  our  native  trees,  if 


198  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

spared  a  few  years  from  fire  it  reaches  a  height  of 
several  feet  and  displays  a  goodly  spread  of 
branches.  At  this  stage  of  its  growth  a  fire  will 
scorch  or  may  destroy  its  top,  but  it  is  not  likely  to 
kill  it  outright.  Although  crippled  and  handi- 
capped it  continues  to  grow  and  in  time  its  foliage 
begins  to  shade  the  ground.  This  shade  is  the 
first  blow  against  the  pines  the  hammock  seeks  to 
supplant.  It  is  as  deadly  to  the  pines  as  the  Upas 
tree  to  the  forests  of  Java.  Now  these  oaks  have 
low,  rounded  heads  and  the  limbs  reach  close  to 
the  ground.  A  tree  in  the  pineland  near  me  about 
thirteen  years  old  has  a  trunk  twenty  inches  in 
diameter  and  a  low,  dense  crown  fifty  feet  across. 
Such  trees  cast  a  deep  shade  and  prevent  the  light- 
loving  young  pines  from  getting  a  start ;  they  also 
rob  the  soil  of  its  substance,  making  it  difficult  for 
any  other  vegetation  to  grow  beside  them. 

This  oak  must  be  a  veritable  salamander,  for  it 
emerges  almost  unscathed  from  fires  which  would 
destroy  any  ordinary  tree.  Even  its  leaves  are 
nearly  fireproof.  When  they  fall  they  lie  flat  on 
the  ground  and  the  strongest  heat  will  scarcely 
.  singe  them. 

In  the  meantime  another  oak  or  two  has  likely 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     199 

made  a  good  start  which  with  some  lesser  vege- 
tation aids  in  the  fight  for  the  conquest  of  the  pine 
forest.  Trema  floridana,  descendant  of  a  closely 
related  West  Indian  species,  soon  appears  on  the 
scene.  It  is  a  small,  soft-wooded  tree  with  orange- 
colored  berries,  which  are  relished  by  birds,  is  of  no 
account  whatever  and  appears  to  be  just  the  thing 
to  burn,  which  it  often  does.  It  has,  however,  its 
part  to  play,  for  growing  thickly  and  rapidly  it 
overcomes  and  kills  the  palmetto  scrub  and  other 
low  vegetation  opposing  the  hammock  extension. 
Then  comes  the  poison  tree  (Metopium)  and  a 
right  good  fire  fighter  it  is.  Myrsine  and  marlberry 
arrive  and  become  abundant  in  the  expanding 
young  forest.  They  grow  close  together  and 
shade  the  ground. 

Given  now  a  few  years  with  no  bad  fire  to 
cripple  it  our  fledgling  hammock  will  have  pushed 
rapidly  out  into  the  pine  forest.  The  pines  do 
not  flourish  in  the  hammock;  they  retire  before  it 
as  does  the  Indian  before  the  white  man.  When 
I  came  to  my  home  sixteen  years  ago  a  solitary 
slender  pine  grew  in  my  hammock.  It  is  still 
alive,  but  although  I  have  cleared  away  around 
it,  it  does  not  grow  and  it  is  not  healthy.  Occa- 


200  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

sionally  one  does  see  fine  pines  within  a  hammock 
but  it  may  be  taken  as  an  indication  that  the 
hammock  is  spreading  rapidly.  Once  it  is  estab- 
lished it  relentlessly  chokes  out  the  young  pines, 
even  if  their  seeds  do  germinate  in  it,  for  of  all 
trees  they  must  have  abundant  room  and  direct 
sunlight  in  order  to  flourish. 

After  the  pioneers  are  well  fixed  and  strong  and 
the  ground  has  become  more  shaded  and  a  thin 
soil  of  leaf  mold  is  forming,  then  new  types  of 
hammock  trees  enter.  The  gumbo  limbo  (Bur- 
sera)  is  one  of  these  second  migrants  and  so  are 
some  of  the  Eugenias  or  "stopper"  trees  and  a 
number  of  others.  The  saw  palmetto  in  the  way 
of  advance  is  soon  killed  and  the  curious  dwarf 
Sabal  already  described  as  so  common  in  the  pine 
woods,  now  captured  and  surrounded  by  the  ad- 
vancing hammock,  develops  into  the  true  cabbage 
palm  and  in  its  congenial  station  reaches  a  height 
of  forty  or  fifty  feet.  It  is  a  royal  good  fire  fighter 
too  and  a  valuable  ally — although  a  traitor.  Here 
is  a  case  of  a  soldier  who  fought  bravely  with  the 
enemy  but  who,  now  a  prisoner,  turns  about  and 
fights  as  valiantly  against  his  former  comrades. 
Ferns  and  Bormeliads  next  establish  themselves 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     201 

on  the  trees  and  the  young  forest  begins  to  take 
on  the  appearance  of  a  fullfledged  hammock. 

I  believe  that  under  favorable  conditions  the 
hammocks  develop  very  rapidly.  Partly  sur- 
rounding a  sink  on  Long  Key,  in  the  Lower  Ever- 
glades, is  a  young  hammock  of  about  an  acre  in 
extent,  consisting  mostly  of  live  oaks.  On  the 
bank  of  the  central  water  hole  a  dozen  pine  trees 
formerly  stood — trees  which  had  probably  com- 
pleted their  growth  before  the  hammock  started, 
and  which  were  doubtless  killed  by  the  incoming 
live  oaks.  They  had  finally  fallen  with  their 
heads  dipping  into  the  water.  At  the  time  of  my 
first  visit  to  this  place  the  bark  and  sapwood  of 
these  pines  were  completely  decayed,  but  the 
heartwood  was  sound.  The  fact  gives  a  clew — 
or  even  the  positive  evidence  of  the  age  of  this 
hammock.  It  could  not  have  been  over  fifty 
years,  probably  less  than  half  that. 

At  the  time  of  my  first  visit  to  this  young  ham- 
mock, my  neighbor,  John  Soar,  Wilson  Popenoe, 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  and  I  took  a 
two  days'  tramp  over  Long  Key  to  botanize  and 
explore.  We  left  our  impedimenta  on  the  bank  of 
the  pool  where  we  intended  to  camp.  When  night 


202  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

fell,  we  gathered  some  dead  pine  wood, — "light- 
wood"  or  "lightered"  as  it  is  called — and  built  a 
fine  fire.  After  a  cold  supper  and  some  yarns  we 
tried  to  rest.  The  mosquitoes  were  bad ;  the  sharp 
uneven  rock  like  Banquo's  ghost  murdered  sleep. 
The  sky  was  overcast,  the  wind  southwest,  and  we 
realized  a  norther  was  coming. 

With  a  good  deal  of  badinage  about  adjusting 
ourselves  to  our  rocky  beds  and  regarding  the 
friendliness  of  the  insects,  we  finally  rolled  into 
our  blankets  but  not  to  sleep.  The  wind  suddenly 
whipped  into  the  northwest  and  a  cold,  steady 
rain  began  to  fall.  Soaked  through,  but  with  our 
blankets  wrapped  about  us,  we  sat  around  our 
weakening  fire  and  "made  a  night  of  it."  Soar, 
who  is  an  old  settler,  told  delightful  stories  of  early 
days  in  Lower  Florida  and  of  many  trips  such  as 
we  were  now  taking.  Popenoe,  though  only  a 
boy,  is  a  globe  trotter  and  regaled  us  with  remin- 
iscences of  adventures  in  Brazil,  in  India,  and  in 
Guatemala,  and  the  old  man  attempted  to  con- 
tribute his  quota  to  the  general  fund.  Congenial 
men  can  draw  very  near  to  each  other  under  such 
circumstances,  and  although  we  were  cold,  wet, 
and  half  devoured  by  mosquitoes,  though  our 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     203 

environment  was  the  dreariest  imaginable,  the 
memory  of  that  night  at  the  little  hammock  is 
one  of  my  very  pleasantest. 

As  soon  as  the  trees  and  shrubs  in  the  embryo 
hammock  begin  to  bear  seed,  its  growth  is  greatly 
accelerated.  The  open  spaces  fill.  The  borders 
advance.  Ordinarily  the  fires  in  the  pine  woods 
expire  at  the  edge  of  the  hammock,  or  only  burn  a 
little  way  into  the  scrubby,  more  open  parts  of  it. 
The  wood  and  leaves  contain  very  little  resin  or 
other  highly  inflammable  material.  But  some 
day  during  a  long,  severe  drought  and  when 
driven  by  a  high  wind,  the  ravening  enemy  comes 
rushing  through  the  pine  woods  resistless.  The 
natural  moisture  of  the  hammock  is  dried  out,  the 
leaves  are  wilted  and  gasping  for  water,  the  dead 
timber,  standing  and  fallen,  is  like  tinder.  The 
flames  rush  into  the  forest  almost  unchecked, 
snapping  and  roaring  their  battle  cry.  Noble 
trees  clad  in  garments  of  glorious  foliage  are 
stripped  in  a  moment  and  left  mere  blackened 
and  ruined  trunks ;  all  the  wonderful  decoration  of 
orchids,  ferns,  bromeliads,  and  scrambling  vines  is 
devoured  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.  No  words 
can  describe  the  awful  wreck;  there  is  in  all  the 


204  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

world  no  more  sudden  and  terrible  change  from 
beauty  to  hideousness  than  is  this.  If  the  leaf 
mold  which  forms  the  forest  floor  becomes  ignited 
and  burns  to  the  rock  below,  then  indeed  the 
rout  is  complete  and  all  is  killed.  If  not,  then  the 
paralyzed,  prostrate  victims  may  recover. 

Enter  this  ruined  forest  two  months  later  and 
green,  fresh  leaves  and  young  growth  will  be  peep- 
ing out  in  many  places.  Even  some  apparently 
dead  trunks  will  be  thrusting  forth  new  foliage 
and  branches.  In  one  season  the  hammock 
begins  to  regain  some  of  its  lost  beauty,  although 
the  cruel  fire  marks  are  still  there.  New  Brome- 
liads  and  other  epiphytes  will  be  found  on  the 
dead  trees;  vines  will  scramble  over  the  charred 
trunks,  in  places  well  nigh  screening  their  ugliness 
from  sight.  In  ten  years  the  ground  will  be  fully 
covered  with  growth  and  the  uninitiated  would 
not  suspect  that  fire  had  ever  ravaged  the  spot. 
So  the  struggle  goes  on  year  after  year  and  age 
after  age  between  the  vegetative  forces  and  the 
fire,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  before  the 
advent  of  the  white  man  the  hammocks  were  getting 
the  best  of  it. 

In  places  along  the  fire-swept  edges  of  the  ham- 


View  on  Paradise  Key;  Royal  Palm  Hammock 

Photo  by  Harrison's  Studio,   Miami 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     205 

mock  the  broad-leaved  growth  has  been  entirely 
exterminated,  and  one  can  only  know  it  for  an 
ancient  hammock  site  by  the  presence  of  half 
burned  or  decayed  logs,  or  by  broken  fragments 
of  the  tree  snails  scattered  on  the  surface  or 
buried  in  the  ground.  Rarely  a  small  hammock 
may  be  found  on  high  land  which  has  no  sink 
or  depression  as  a  nucleus,  but  the  few  I  have 
seen  were  near  other  larger  hammocks  and  doubt- 
less had  been  cut  off  from  them  by  fire.  The 
damp  hammock  sinks  instead  of  being  overgrown 
with  coarse  vegetation,  as  in  the  open  pine  woods, 
are  made  ravishingly  beautiful  by  the  ferns  and 
other  shade  and  moisture  loving  plants  that 
occupy  them.  No  words  that  I  can  summon 
will  properly  describe  the  wonderful  effect  pro- 
duced by  these  fern  gardens.  The  ferns  often 
scramble  up  the  tree  trunks,  covering  them  with  a 
delicate  mat  to  a  height  of  several  feet.  Here  is 
found  the  only  tree  fern  of  the  United  States, 
Dryopteris  ampla,  with  richly  cut  fronds  spread 
over  a  space  of  a  dozen  feet  and  supported  on  stout 
trunks  two  feet  high.  The  walls  of  the  larger 
sinks  are  often  covered  with  elegant  halberd  ferns 
and  from  among  them  spring  immense  tufts  of 


206  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

maidenhair  which  droop  over  the  pools  with  won- 
derful grace.  There  are  also  a  fine  holly  fern; 
several  strap  ferns  on  the  decaying  logs,  grass  and 
serpent  ferns  on  the  cabbage  palmettos  and  the 
resurrection  fern  that  clothes  the  leaning  trunks 
and  branches  of  the  live  oaks*  But  the  real  glory 
of  the  hammock  is  the  two  species  of  Nephrolepis, 
one  being  the  well-known  "Boston"  fern.  These 
are  often  found  on  trees,  especially  the  palmetto, 
but  they  also  grow  over  the  floor  of  the  forest  form- 
ing masses  higher  than  a  man's  head  and  some- 
times so  dense  that  one  may  walk  over  them. 
The  fronds  of  one  of  these  measured  over  twenty- 
seven  feet  in  length! 

In  many  places  young  hammock  grows  on  ground 
so  rocky  that  the  trees  cannot  obtain  a  secure  foot- 
hold, hence  they  are  often  overthrown  by  storms. 
Some  of  them  seem  to  be  but  little  inconvenienced 
by  this.  The  sound  roots  continue  to  act  as  before 
while  the  prostrate  trunk  sends  up  new  growth. 
The  next  storm  may  again  overturn  the  whole  affair 
and  the  process  of  growth  is  again  readjusted.  I 
have  seen  live  oaks  that  have  been  overthrown  four 
times,  the  trunks  being  split  and  twisted  half  way 
around,  yet  no  apparent  damage  had  resulted. 


If 

t  s 

QO 
a  e 


•o  O 


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n 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     207 

I  have  called  the  live  oak  our  stateliest  tree,  the 
Achilles  of  the  hammocks,  and  like  that  hero  it 
has  a  vulnerable  spot.  When  it  has  finished  its 
pioneer  work,  and  the  floor  of  the  forest  has  be- 
come a  deep  bed  of  leaf  mold;  when  there  is  no 
longer  danger  that  the  center  of  the  forest  will 
be  devastated  by  fire,  a  final  immigration  of 
strictly  tropical  trees  arrives.  These  last  arrivals 
cannot  live  in  the  fire  zone  and  can  only  grow  in 
rich  soil  and  in  the  dampness  and  protection  from 
cold  afforded  by  the  completed  forest.  Like  most 
of  the  tropical  emigrants  they  have  lived  for  count- 
less generations  in  the  Torrid  Zone;  they  and 
their  ancestors  have  struggled  for  light,  for  food, 
and  for  a  place  to  live  in  denser  forests  than  these 
and  where  the  battle  for  life  never  ceases  a  second 
in  the  year.  They  have  become  fighters  from 
necessity;  their  forbears  were  warriors  of  cun- 
ning and  strength,  and  they  have  inherited  the 
instinct  of  aggressiveness. 

The  young  trees  of  these  later  migrants  can 
flourish  in  more  crowded  situations  and  where 
there  is  less  light  than  can  the  natives  of  the  warm 
temperate  regions.  The  ground  in  a  tropical 
forest  is  an  almost  solid  mass  of  roots  which  are 


208  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

fighting  desperately  for  moisture  and  plant  food. 
Those  of  the  West  Indian  trees  are  better  fitted  for 
obtaining  a  share  in  such  forests  than  are  the  oak 
roots,  or  those  of  the  red  bays,  the  persimmon,  or 
prickly  ash  of  our  Southern  States.  It  is  for  this 
that  the  latter  invariably  give  way  before  the 
former — the  trained  soldiers  of  the  tropics.  One 
will  find  hundreds  of  seedlings  and  young  trees 
of  tropical  species  in  the  midst  of  old  and  estab- 
lished hammocks,  but  it  is  rare  indeed  to  en- 
counter a  young  live  oak  or  sweet  bay  in  like 
situation,  but  if  he  does  he  may  be  sure  it  is 
doomed  to  early  death. 

But  the  especial  enemy  of  the  live  oak  is  our 
common  strangler,  Ficus  aurea,  an  account  of 
which  is  given  in  the  chapter  on  the  survival  of  the 
fittest.  In  any  large  hammock  a  number  of  these 
old  patriarchs  may  be  seen  enfolded  in  the  stifling 
embrace  of  this  terrible  Ficus.  This,  then,  is  the 
arrow  that  reaches  the  heel  of  our  hammock 
Achilles.  Whenever  in  the  dim,  crowded  forest 
one  of  these  monarch  oaks  dies  of  old  age  or  stran- 
gulation no  other  comes  to  take  its  place.  It  is 
one  of  the  injustices  of  nature  that  this  noble  tree 
which  has  fought  the  fire  with  matchless  courage 


THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  HAMMOCKS     209 

and  gone  forward  as  a  pioneer  to  establish  the 
forest  should  at  last  be  dispossessed  by  other  trees 
whose  very  existence  it  has  made  possible. 

The  finished  hammock  forest  consists  almost 
entirely  of  tall,  straight,  closely  set  trees  of 
tropical  origin.  They  stand  erect  as  soldiers  on 
parade;  their  dense,  leafy  tops  shut  out  nearly 
all  the  rays  of  the  sun.  For  this  reason  but  few 
epiphytes  grow.  This  part  of  the  forest  is  grand 
and  gloomy;  but  it  is  not  so  picturesque  or  lively 
as  is  the  younger  stage. 

These  are  "The  Hammocks,  Florida's  one 
unique,  priceless  heritage,"  as  Prof.  W.  H.  Henry 
has  beautifully  expressed  it.  They  should  be 
cherished  for  their  beauty  and  for  the  rare 
vegetation  they  contain.  Once  destroyed  they 
can  never  be  replaced  quite  as  nature  has  made 
them,  and  Florida  would  be  despoiled  for  all  time 
of  one  of  her  most  important  attractions. 


CHAPTER  X 
In  tHe  Primeval  Forest 

IN  another  chapter  I  have  traced  the  develop- 
ment of  the  hammock  from  a  single  live  oak 
beside  a  sink  or  swamp  to  the  tall,  solidly 
grown  tropical  forest.     Prominent  among  such 
Florida  forests  is,  or  rather  was,  the  great  Miami 
hammock.     Formerly  it  stretched  for  miles  along 
the  shore  of  Biscayne  Bay,  occupying  most  of  the 
site  of  what  is  now  the  city,  and  extended  half  a 
mile  inland.     On  account  of  the  encroachment  of 
this  flourishing  settlement  much  of  it  has  been 
destroyed  and  only  a  remnant  of  its  former  beauty 
and  stateliness  remains. 

It  occupies  what  is  probably  the  highest  ground 
of  any  part  of  southeastern  Florida  and  some  of  it 
was  probably  the  first  to  be  lifted  above  the  sea 
after  the  great  Pleistocene  subsidence.  It  is  quite 
certain  that  when  the  forest  covering  this  site 
began  to  develop,  the  outer  peninsula  ending  in 

210 


Views   in  Brickell    Hammock,   Miami,   Illustrating    Dense   Tropical   Growth   in 
Primeval  Forest.     Lower  View  along  Old  Road 

Both  by  Prof.   F.   G.   Smith 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          211 

Cape  Florida  did  not  exist,  and  the  Upper  Keys 
were  only  a  low,  coral  reef ;  at  any  rate  it  was  the 
shore  line  open  to  the  sea  over  which  seeds  of 
tropical  trees  and  plants  were  drifted  to  it,  I 
have  no  doubt  this  is  the  oldest  hammock  in  the 
lower  part  of  the  State,  and  long  before  the  white 
man  began  his  work  of  destruction  it  contained 
over  a  hundred  species  of  trees  and  large  shrubs. 
Here  were,  at  least,  two  species  of  fine  tropical 
trees  which  have  never  been  found  elsewhere 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  one  a  mem- 
ber of  the  laurel  family  (Misantica  triandra)  and 
one  of  the  soap  berries  (Talesia  pedicillaris). 

Long  ago  a  part  of  the  hammock  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  "Punch  Bowl"  (a  curious  depression  in  the 
rock  near  the  shore)  was  cleared,  planted,  and  after- 
wards abandoned.  This  cleared  portion  grew  up 
with  second  growth  which  attained  considerable 
size.  Only  a  part  of  the  original  forest  still  stands 
and  it  is  probable  that  most  of  that  will  soon  be 
destroyed.  Let  us  enter  it  now  before  it  is  too 
late  to  observe,  study,  and  wonder;  to  be  filled  with 
reverence  at  sight  of  so  magnificent  a  growth ;  for 
like  an  old  Greek  or  Roman  temple  it  is  stately 
and  beautiful,  even  as  a  ruin. 


212  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

The  border  of  the  forest  is  almost  everywhere  a 
dense  scrub,  consisting  of  low-grown  live  oaks, 
red  bay,  cabbage  palmetto,  the  common  sumac 
(Rhus  obtusifolia) ,  prickly  ash  (Zanthoxylum), 
Trema,  French  mulberry  (Callicarpa  americana), 
wild  coral  tree  (Erythrina  arborea)  and  one  or  two 
species  of  lantanas.  There  are  several  vines  in 
the  border  thicket,  some  unpleasantly  thorny,  and 
among  them  are  species  of  smilax  and  of  the 
unpleasant  Pisonia,  so  it  is  very  difficult  to  pene- 
trate the  inhospitable  tangle. 

The  floor  at  the  border  of  the  forest  is  rocky  and 
uneven,  there  being  but  little  sand  and  leaf  mold 
in  the  depressions.  In  this  the  trees  get  but  a 
poor  hold  and  when  overturned  by  a  storm  they 
tear  up  the  limestone  much  as  do  the  trees  in  the 
pineland.  As  we  go  farther  into  the  wood  we  find 
an  increasing  number  of  tropical  trees  and  a 
decreasing  proportion  of  the  warm  temperate 
forms;  the  growth  becomes  taller,  straighter,  and 
closer. 

In  the  newer  and  more  open  part  of  the  forest 
epiphytes  are  most  abundant ;  with  most  favorable 
conditions  they  burden  the  trees  almost  to  the 
breaking  point.  In  South  Florida  there  are 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          213 

known  to  be  about  twenty-two  species  of  native, 
epiphytal  orchids,  but  most  of  them  have  little 
claim  to  beauty ;  a  few  only  are  really  ornamental. 
One  of  these  (Cyrtopodium  punctatum)  is  so  re- 
markable that  it  deserves  especial  notice.  It 
grows  on  trees  in  the  littoral,  or  in  the  high  ham- 
mock, though  it  favors  the  former.  The  roots  of 
most  epiphytal  orchids  cling  to  the  bark  of  the 
tree  on  which  they  grow,  often  following  along 
the  crevices  in  the  bark  and  probably  rinding  a 
little  plant  food  in  them.  Those  of  the  Cyrto- 
podium attach  themselves  to  the  bark  and  then 
suddenly  turn  upward  and  outward  after  the 
manner  of  the  ex-Kaiser's  mustache.  Thus  they 
form  a  sort  of  basket  to  catch  every  leaf,  dead 
twig,  insect,  and  whatever  else  may  happen  along. 
When  these  decay  they  fertilize  the  plant.  Some 
of  these  orchids  become  very  large,  having  dozens 
of  stout,  fusiform  stems  or  pseudo  bulbs,  bearing 
broad,  attractive  leaves,  and  the  "basket"  may 
hold  a  bushel.  The  flower  stems,  bracts,  and 
rather  large  blossoms  are  greenish  yellow,  blotched, 
and  irregularly  striped  with  brown.  When  the 
hundreds  of  blossoms  open  it  is  a  splendid  sight. 
Several  other  species  of  orchids  perch  on  the  trees 


214  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

along  with  a  great  variety  of  Tillandsias  or  air 
pines — "poor  relations  of  the  pineapple"  as 
Bradford  Torrey  aptly  called  them.  The  strange 
effect  of  so  many  air  plants  is  often  heightened  by 
a  drapery  of  Spanish  moss  which  hangs  in  long, 
weird  streamers.  With  these  epiphytes  is  asso- 
ciated a  Catopsis  and  along  the  horizontal  or  lean- 
ing stems  of  the  live  oaks  is  a  lovely  Peperomia,  a 
closely  clinging  creeper  with  thick,  obovate  leaves 
and  rat-tail  spikes  of  greenish  flowers.  It  is  one 
of  only  four  members  of  the  pepper  family  grow- 
ing in  Lower  Florida. 

This  part  of  the  forest  is  a  veritable  fern  garden. 
Along  the  trunks  of  the  live  oaks  the  exquisite 
resurrection  fern  (Polypodium  polypodioides)  with 
its  delicately  cut  fronds  forms  solid  mats,  which 
awaken  into  growth  and  beauty  with  the  coming 
of  rain  and  turn  brown  and  desolate  when  the 
weather  is  dry.  Among  the  palmetto  boots  is  the 
large  serpent  fern,  so  called  because  its  knotted 
rootstocks  resemble  the  twisted  bodies  of  snakes. 
There  are  long  tufts  of  grass  ferns  on  the  palm 
which  sometimes  droop  five  or  six  .feet  and  are 
then  striking  objects.  Here  also  is  one  of  the  most 
attractive  plants  in  the  forest  (Campyloneurum 


Densely    Crowded,   Straight    Trees    in   Brickell    Hammock,   Miami. 
Note  White  Smooth  Trunks 

Photo  by  Prof.  F.  G.  Smith 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          215 

phyttiditis)  with  long,  graceful  fronds  growing  on 
decaying  logs,  and  on  the  ground — the  lovely  sword 
ferns.  There  are  many  others  too  numerous  for 
special  mention.  \ 

We  may  enter  a  road  cut  long  ago  through  the 
forest  and  follow  it  until  it  becomes  a  veritable 
tunnel,  the  top  and  sides  of  which  are  formed  by 
the  tall,  closely  set  trees.  We  are  now  in  the 
primeval  forest  and  on  either  side  of  us  is  a  solid 
wall  of  vegetation  towering  up  sixty  or  seventy 
feet.  The  sight  to  me  is  always  an  inspiring  one 
and  it  fills  me  with  a  vague  sense  of  fear.  The 
trees  are  not  so  large  as  some  of  northern  forests, 
but  they  are  tall,  straight,  and  huddled  together, 
and  are  interwoven  above  in  an  inextricable  tangle. 
Overhead  the  sky  is  almost  wholly  shut  out  by  the 
dense  canopy  of  foliage  and  though  it  is  midday 
outside  it  is  evening  within,  in  places  almost  night. 
The  character  of  this  forest  is  very  different  from 
that  of  its  own  borders  or  from  that  of  most  ham- 
mocks of  Lower  Florida.  This  forest  is  quite  open 
below,  having  but  little  undergrowth  on  account 
of  the  darkness,  and  there  are  almost  no  vines 
or  sprawlers.  Within  a  radius  of  fifty  feet  one 
may  find  as  many  species  of  trees  and  large 


216  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

shrubs,  and  all  are  tropical.  In  fact  there  are 
as  many  different  kinds  of  trees  within  an  acre 
of  this  forest  as  grow  wild  in  any  state  of  the 
Union  wholly  north  ^of  the  fortieth  parallel  of 
latitude. 

As  I  have  said  there  is  only  a  limited  amount  of 
growth  on  the  floor  of  the  forest.  No  matter  how 
perfectly  a  plant  may  be  adapted  to  living  in  the 
shade  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  have  some 
light,  and  over  much  of  this  forest  floor  the  sun 
never  shines.  The  birds,  the  insects,  the  foliage, 
and  blossoms — all  life — are  up  in  the  tree  tops  in 
the  glorious  sunlight.  Even  butterflies  are  rarely 
seen,  however  common  in  more  open  places.  A 
few  large  arboreal  snails  (Liguus)  live  on  the  tree 
trunks  or  shrubs,  but  even  they  are  far  more  abun- 
dant in  the  more  open  sunlit  parts  of  the  jungle. 
That  they  are  plentiful  high  up  in  the  tree  tops 
where  they  are  exposed  to  the  light  is  proven  by 
the  large  number  of  dead  shells,  or  "bones"  as 
collectors  call  them,  scattered  over  the  floor  of  the 
hammock.  As  Kingsley  has  said  of  a  similar 
forest  in  the  Island  of  Trinidad:  "You  are  in  the 
empty  nave  of  the  cathedral  and  the  service  is 
being  celebrated  aloft  in  the  blazing  roof." 


Immense  "Gumbo  Limbo"  Tree  (Bursera  gummifera)  in  Cutler  Hammock 

(Charles  Deering  Estate).     It  is   Said   to   be   One  of  the   Trees 

Which  Produces  Gum  Elemi  of  the  Druggists  and  Th's 

Name  may  be  a  Corruption  of  the  Native  One 

Photo  by   Wilson  Popenoe 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          217 

What  are  the  trees  which  compose  this  forest? 
You  cannot  so  easily  tell  because  the  foliage  is  far 
above  your  head  and  it  is  too  dark  to  distinguish 
it.  Occasionally  a  limb  hangs  down  so  that  one 
can  observe  its  leaves  but  barring  this  an  expert 
botanist,  familiar  with  all  this  growth  cannot 
positively  determine  the  trees  by  their  trunks 
alone.  From  the  road  or  a  cleared  spot  you  will 
likely  see  a  very  large  tree,  somewhat  crooked 
and  with  smooth  trunk  of  a  rich  coppery  color; 
the  leaves  glossy.  This  is  a  gumbo  limbo 
(Bur sera  gummifera),  the  most  striking  object  in 
all  the  hammock.  Even  the  dullest  or  most  indif- 
ferent tourist  looks  at  and  asks  what  it  is.  Its 
outer  bark  peels  off  in  thin  paper  layers  like  that 
of  the  birches,  hence  it  is  sometimes  called  "West 
Indian  Birch."  It  belongs  to  a  family  rich  in 
balsams  and  it  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  trees  which 
furnishes  the  gum  elemi  of  the  druggists.  Another 
tree,  the  satinleaf  (Chrysophyllum  oliv&forme) ,  with 
intense,  metallic  green,  glossy  leaves,  the  under 
surfaces  of  which  are  covered  with  brownish  golden 
hairs,  is  thrust  out  into  the  open  where  we  can 
readily  observe  it.  These  hairs  are  closely  ap- 
pressed  and  when  the  wind  turns  the  leaves  they 


218          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

flash  like  golden  satin,  and  glow  with  a  sort  of 
radiance  or  sheen. 

There  are  the  mastic  and  the  poison  tree,  the 
latter  a  cousin  of  our  northern  poison  ivy,  there 
are — hog  plum,  pigeon  plum,  darling  plum,  and  two 
species  of  coco  "plums."  The  lovely  paradise 
tree  will  be  seen  with  its  long,  handsome 
pinnate  leaves  shining  as  though  freshly  varnished. 
Every  part  of  it  is  intensely  bitter  and  it  is  prob- 
ably one  of  the  trees  that  furnishes  quassia  chips. 
Here  is  the  wild  lime  and  its  near  relative  the 
"toothache"  tree,  with  bark  and  leaves  acrid 
enough  to  cause  or  cure — anything.  There  is  the 
locustberry,  which  may  be  either  a  shrub  or  a  tree, 
bearing  daintily  beautiful  blossoms,  and  the  soap- 
berry, the  fruit  of  which  when  macerated  in  water 
produces  a  lather  with  all  the  qualities  of  soap. 
There  are  ironwood,  lancewood,  fiddlewood,  ink- 
wood,  white-wood,  yellow-wood,  torchwood,  and 
the  beautifully  variegated  crabwood,  used  to  make 
canes  and  various  ornaments.  The  torchwood  is 
so  filled  with  resin  that  it  is  used  for  torches ;  it 
may  also  be  a  source  of  gum  elemi,  as  its  specific 
name  elemifera  would  indicate.  There  are  also  dog- 
wood, naked  wood  and,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 


77V  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          219 

shore,  buttonwood.  There  are  a  half  dozen  dif- 
ferent stopper  trees,  members  of  the  myrtle  family, 
and  all  handsome  evergreens.  In  places  the  cala- 
bash tree  is  common  with  fruits  as  large  as  a  small 
coconut  but  these  cannot  be  used  for  household 
utensils  as  are  the  fruits  of  its  West  Indian  relative. 
Occasionally  one  finds  the  strongback,  so  named, 
no  doubt,  on  account  of  its  hard  durable  wood; 
and  now  and  then  one  sees  the  lovely  glossy- 
leaved  West  Indian  cherry  and  the  equally  hand- 
some papaw. 

I  do  not  give  the  scientific  names  of  most  of 
these  since  they  would  add  more  of  confusion 
and  complication  than  of  valuable  information. 
Although  there  are  several  trees  in  the  northern 
states  which  have  the  same  common  names  as 
some  of  these,  yet  none  of  them  is  identical  or 
even  botanically  related.  Almost  all  of  the  trees 
I  have  enumerated  have  common  names  in  the 
Bahamas  and  West  Indies  and  the  natives  dis- 
tinguish one  from  another  with  the  skill  and 
certainty  of  a  trained  botanist,  and  they  also 
understand  something  of  their  medicinal  and 
other  qualities.  A  northern  botanist  unfamiliar  with 
this  tropic  flora  would  be  completely  bewildered 


220  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

and  unable  to  refer  a  half  dozen  of  the  trees  to 
their  genera  or  families.  What  of  the  medicinal 
and  useful  properties  of  these  many  species  of 
trees,  what  part  do  they  play  in  the  economy  of 
the  forest?  Where  and  when  did  each  one  first 
land  and  become  established  on  our  shores — and 
whence;  what  changes  have  taken  place  among 
them  since  they  first  arrived  ?  Science  knows  but 
little  of  them.  The  most  ignorant  Bahama  Negro 
can  tell  more  about  them  than  can  the  ablest 
botanist.  Verily  the  forest  is  full  of  unanswered 
questions ! 

I  have  said  that  the  older  part  of  this  forest  is 
wholly  tropical  but  I  must  slightly  modify  this 
statement.  Here  in  the  very  densest  and  oldest 
part  of  it  is  a  northern  tree,  the  common  red  mul- 
berry (Morus  rubra)  which  seems  to  be  as  much  at 
home  as  any  of  the  tropical  immigrants.  These 
Antillean  trees,  as  I  have  explained,  drive  out  all 
the  temperate  and  warm  temperate  growth ;  why, 
then,  this  exception  ?  This  was  long  a  puzzle  to  me 
and  I  am  not  so  sure  that  I  have  yet  solved  it.  The 
mulberry  is  a  member  of  the  Moraceae,  a  family 
including  the  breadfruit  and  belonging  mostly  to 
the  tropics;  it  has  only  a  few  outliers  in  temperate 


\*n\ 


Dense  Tangle  of  Tropical  Vines  in  Cutler  Hammock,  Estate  of  Charles 
Deering 

Photo  by  Wilson  Popenoe 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          221 

regions.  Now  this  particular  tree  is  well  adapted 
to  living  under  a  great  variety  of  conditions,  for 
even  in  this  locality  it  grows  in  brackish  and 
fresh-water  swamps,  in  all  kinds  of  hammock, 
and  out  into  the  borders  of  the  pineland.  The 
ancestors  of  this  tree  probably  lived  in  the 
tropics  and  one  of  them  migrated  into  colder 
regions  and  became  inured  to  a  more  rigorous 
climate.  Our  mulberry  possibly  inherits  all  the 
courage  and  fighting  instincts,  if  I  may  so  ex- 
press it,  of  its  forbears  and  relatives  of  the  Torrid 
Zone. 

The  distribution  of  this  tree  is  very  extensive 
and  somewhat  peculiar.  It  occurs  from  Texas  to 
Eastern  Nebraska,  eastward  through  Michigan, 
Ontario,  and  Western  Massachusetts,  south  to 
Cape  Romano  and  Biscayne  Bay,  occupying  al- 
most the  entire  eastern  part  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  not  known  from  extreme  Lower  Florida  or 
the  keys.  One  may  reasonably  suppose  that  the 
line  of  its  migration  is  from  the  highlands  of 
Mexico  through  the  southwestern  states,  into  the 
far  north  and  east  and  southward  into  the  lower 
part  of  the  Florida  Peninsula.  Is  it  another 
Prodigal  Son  who,  after  leaving  the  parental  roof 


222  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

and  wandering  far  and  wide,  is  seeking  to  return 
to  the  home  of  his  father? 

It  will  be  noticed  that  most  of  the  leaves  of  this 
forest  are  rather  small,  that  they  are  entire  (hav- 
ing no  serrations  or  lobes),  that  they  are  of  firm, 
thick  texture  and  are  usually  glossy  above.  In 
all  these  particulars  they  differ  decidedly  from  the 
leaves  of  the  northern  woods.  In  cooler  regions 
of  the  Temperate  Zone  the  trees  have  what  might 
be  called  "hurry-up  leaves."  During  half  the 
year  the  weather  is  too  cold  for  vegetable  growth 
and  as  a  consequence  there  is  a  complete  rest 
among  plants.  The  warm  spring  starts  the  sap 
to  moving,  but  there  is  only  a  brief  season  for 
growth  and  the  preparation  for  another  winter. 
The  proper  kind  of  leaf  for  such  conditions  is  thin, 
with  roughened  surfaces  and  irregular  edges — 
one  exposing  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  sur- 
face to  the  air  and  light.  And  it  is  just  such 
leaves  we  see  in  the  northern  forests.  Practically 
all  the  growth  of  northern  deciduous  trees  is  made 
in  six  weeks,  and  during  this  brief  time  the  leaves 
are  rushing  the  crude  sap  up  from  the  roots  and 
exposing  it  to  the  sun  for  the  necessary  process  of 
elaboration,  so  that  it  may  be  returned  in  proper 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          223 

condition  to  form  the  wood  of  the  tree.  There  is 
no  time  to  waste,  for  cold  weather  follows  quickly 
and  the  wood  must  be  hardened  and  the  buds 
completed  before  winter. 

In  the  tropics  conditions  are  very  different. 
The  summer  is  the  period  of  growth,  as  in  the 
Temperate  Zone,  and  during  the  balance  of  the 
year  most  of  the  vegetation  is  more  or  less  dor- 
mant, also  as  in  the  temperate  regions.  But 
there  is  no  cold  weather  in  the  tropics  and  a  large 
proportion  of  the  trees  retain  their  leaves  through- 
out the  year;  in  other  words,  they  have  persistent 
foliage.  The  leaves,  then,  must  do  duty  for  sev- 
eral years  and  they  must  be  made  to  last  and 
stand  hard  service.  Having  to  endure  long  dry 
seasons,  they  are  usually  rather  small,  their  upper 
surfaces  are  smooth  and  glossy,  their  substance  is 
thick  and  leathery,  their  edges  are  entire.  In  dry 
weather  they  close  their  pores,  and  probably  add 
a  little  to  the  coat  of  varnish  on  the  upper  sur- 
faces; then  they  practically  cease  all  functions. 
They  do  finally  grow  old  and  wear  out,  falling 
most  abundantly  during  the  seasonal  rains.  One 
reason  they  are  so  hard  and  glossy  is  to  resist  the 
constant  attacks  of  insects. 


224  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

In  Lower  Florida  a  few  of  the  temperate  and 
warm  temperate  trees  shed  their  leaves  in  the 
fall,  and  in  the  late  winter  or  early  spring  put  on 
new  ones.  The  willows  often  leave  out  and  bloom 
in  January  and  the  mulberry  dons  its  bright  green 
new  garments  a  little  later.  The  live  oaks  and 
bay  trees  awake  in  February,  casting  off  the  old, 
as  they  acquire  the  new  leaves.  The  gumbo 
limbo  and  poison  tree  may  lose  their  leaves  through 
the  winter,  and  if  the  weather  is  cold  the  dogwood 
does  also.  However,  most  of  the  tropical  trees 
pay  no  heed  to  the  increasing  heat  of  spring ;  they 
merely  stand  and  soak  in  the  sunshine  and  warmth 
but  make  no  attempt  to  grow>  In  Lower  Florida 
the  rains  usually  begin  the  latter  part  of  May  or 
early  in  June  and  at  once  the  tropical  forest 
awakens  to  great  activity.  The  leaves  of  most  of 
its  trees  suddenly  become  dingy  and  fall — they 
seem  to  be  pushed  off  by  the  rapidly  growing  new 
ones.  Soon  the  change  of  clothes  is  made  and  the 
forest  is  splendid  in  its  fresh  mantle  of  rich  young 
foliage,  of  many  shades  of  reddish  brown  or  vivid 
green.  The  floor  of  the  hammock  is  thick  with 
dead  leaves  which  rustle  under  foot  as  in  a  northern 
November.  On  the  ground  autumn  has  taken 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          225 

full  possession,  while  aloft  in  the  tree  tops  spring 
has  begun  her  joyous  reign.  In  the  late  winter 
there  may  be  another  revival — a  sort  of  secondary 
spring  and  autumn  combination,  especially  if  the 
weather  changes  from  cold  to  continued  warmth 
and  rain  is  abundant. 

In  the  tropics  the  new  foliage  is  often  renewed 
with  remarkable  suddenness.  I  remember  during 
a  winter  spent  in  Spanish  Honduras  some  fine 
large  Ficus  trees  which  I  greatly  admired  on 
account  of  their  glossy,  dark  green  leaves.  One 
morning  I  noticed  they  were  turning  yellow,  by 
the  next  day  brown,  and  I  became  alarmed,  think- 
ing the  trees  were  dying.  The  third  day  nearly 
all  the  leaves  had  fallen  while  pale  new  ones  were 
appearing.  A  week  later  the  trees  were  newly 
clothed  with  full-grown  foliage.  For  years  I 
could  not  understand  the  reason  for  this  strange 
performance  but  finally  in  Rodway's  In  the  Guiana 
Forest  I  read  the  explanation  of  the  mystery. 

The  air  in  dense  tropical  forests  is  always  more 
or  less  moist  and  growth  may  take  place  at  any 
favorable  opportunity.  In  the  fearful  struggle 
for  light,  space,  and  food,  if  an  opening  be  made 

by  the  falling  of  a  tree,   the  other  trees  round 
is 


226  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

about  immediately  send  new  branches  into  it  and 
in  no  time  the  space  is  filled  with  fresh  growth. 
It  is  evident  that  if  any  tree  remained  bare  of 
foliage  for  long  its  neighbors  would  steal  its  hard- 
earned  place  in  the  blessed  light  and  it  would 
perish.  Although  the  forest  around  these  particular 
Ficus  in  Honduras  had  been  cut  away,  and  no 
necessity  existed  for  a  hurry  change  of  clothes, 
yet  these  trees  from  force  of  habit  did  what  their 
ancestors  had  done  for  countless  generations. 
They  took  no  chances. 

The  Lower  Florida  winter  climate  is  colder  than 
in  the  tropics  and  little  tree  growth  is  made  during 
the  cool,  dry  part  of  the  year.  Consequently 
haste  is  not  so  necessary  in  renewal  of  leaves. 
Thus  the  mulberry  remains  leafless  from  fall 
until  spring.  But  the  Ficus  and  some  others 
retain  the  instinct  of  their  forefathers  and  remain 
bare  but  a  short  time. 

The  air  roots  of  Ficus  aurea  (and  sometimes  their 
branches)  become  fused  together  when  they  long 
remain  pressed  in  contact.  Cases  of  natural 
inarching,  that  is,  uniting  together  two  branches 
in  a  longitudinal  union,  are  very  unusual.  In  my 
own  hammock  a  pigeon  plum  (Coccolobis  floridand) 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          227 

has  furnished  an  interesting  example  and  I  puzzled 
a  good  deal  over  it.  I  could  understand  how  two 
limbs  growing  side  by  side  and  becoming  chafed 
might  start  to  unite  their  abraided  surfaces,  but 
in  a  windy  region  how  could  they  be  held  together 
for  the  several  months  necessary  to  complete  the 
process?  The  slightest  move  of  either  branch 
would  break  the  incipient  union.  One  day  there 
came  to  my  hammock  a  man  who  had  spent  many 
years  in  the  tropics  and  is  a  born  naturalist. 
Examining  the  queer  inarch  he  said:  "I  think  I 
know.  After  the  bark  of  these  limbs  was  abraided 
a  twining  vine  grew  around  them,  binding  the  two 
parts  so  firmly  together  they  couldn't  move,  and 
since  the  union  the  vine  has  died."  Then  I 
wondered  at  my  own  stupidity. 

A  striking  feature  of  these  great  forests  is  the 
vines — "lianes,"  "sipos,"  or  "bushropes"  as  they 
are  variously  called  in  the  tropics.  In  places  they 
reach  the  upper  limits  of  the  tree  tops  and  project 
down  again.  Sometimes  they  are  drawn  taut  and 
again  they  hang  in  loops  or  festoons,  or  they  coil  ' 
about  in  dense  masses,  and  crawl  over  the  ground 
like  endless  serpents.  Usually  the  visible  parts  of 
the  stems  are  wholly  naked,  for  they  are  mere  water 


228  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

pipes  which  carry  sap  to  the  foliage  up  out  of 
sight  on  the  roof  of  the  forest.  One  wonders  how 
they  have  managed  to  climb  to  the  tree  tops,  as  they 
are  usually  swung  entirely  clear  of  any  support  in 
their  lower  parts.  These  hanging  lianes  simply 
rest  on  the  limbs  fifty  or  sixty  feet  above  the  floor 
of  the  forest.  A  few  of  them  are  sprawlers,  as  the 
pull-  and  haul-back  (Pisonia  acukata),  and  these 
crawl  and  slide  upward  as  they  grow  over  shrub- 
bery and  the  lower  branches  of  trees.  The  method 
is  different  with  the  ordinary  climbers  which 
ascend  by  attaching  themselves  to  anything  by 
means  of  their  tendrils.  On  some  of  the  Florida 
Keys  and  at  Paradise  Key  in  the  Everglades 
a  Hippocratea  (H.  volubilis)  is  very  abundant. 
This  giant  tropical  vine  sends  out  a  pair  of 
tendrils  at  each  joint  which  tightly  clasp  any  other 
vine  or  tree  up  which  it  proceeds  to  climb.  Often 
the  union  of  the  support  and  supported  is  so  close 
that  the  two  stems  seem  as  one  and  it  needs  care- 
ful inspection  to  distinguish  them  apart.  Each 
tendril  bears  three  leaves  at  its  extremity  and  after 
the  vine  has  reached  the  top  of  the  tree  both  ten- 
drils and  leaves  drop  off,  allowing  the  stem  to 
~>  swing  free.  We  have  a  Cissus  and  two  other 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST          229 

grapes  which  sometimes  form  bushropes,  and  also 
our  common  northern  woodbine,  which  climbs 
by  adventive  roots.  There  are  also  several  others. 

When  these  have  reached  the  light  and  air  of  the 
forest  canopy  they  are  no  longer  concerned  about 
their  means  of  ascent.  Their  upper  parts  once 
secure  among  the  topmost  branches,  the  tendrils, 
no  longer  needed,  decay  and  the  unfastened  stems 
hang  in  all  manner  of  picturesque  and  fantastic 
attitudes.  The  young  aspiring  vines  need  less 
light  than  most  vegetation. 

The  building  of  a  ship,  of  a  house,  or  of  any  other 
monument  of  man  is  invariably  accompanied  by 
incessant  noise.  In  this  busy  workshop  of  the 
forest  amid  the  most  intense  creative  activity 
there  is  an  oppressive  silence  and  no  visible  mo- 
tion. Nature's  machinery  operates  so  smoothly 
the  entire  forest  might  as  well  be  dead  for  all  that 
one  may  see  or  hear  of  the  work  going  on. 

Unless  especially  gifted  in  a  sense  of  direction 
one  is  in  danger  of  getting  lost  in  these  jungles  for 
it  is  very  difficult  to  locate  the  sun,  however 
brightly  it  may  be  shining  without.  Notwith- 
standing the  great  variety  of  vegetation,  the 
forest  is  after  all  very  monotonous  and,  to  an 


230          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

unpracticed  eye,  every  part  looks  exactly  alike. 
Even  with  a  compass  I  find  it  necessary  to  be 
watchful  whenever  I  venture  alone  into  the  great 
forests;  one  constantly  encounters  the  obstruc- 
tions of  fallen  timber  or  tangled  vines  to  prevent 
a  straight  course. 

How  old  are  the  primeval  forests  of  Lower 
Florida?  It  is  impossible  to  guess  even  within 
centuries.  At  the  farthest  limit  none  can  possibly 
be  older  than  the  latter  part  of  the  Pleistocene, 
and,  geologically  speaking  of  course,  that  epoch 
only  began  yesterday;  it  marked  the  falling  of  the 
curtain  upon  the  great  drama  of  the  physical 
world's  past  history.  Since  the  close  of  the  Pleis- 
tocene, conditions  on  the  earth  have  been  essen- 
tially as  they  are  now  and  geologists  call  this  brief 
period  "the  Recent."  It  is,  then,  within  this  last 
flicker  of  cosmic  time  these  hammocks  began  to 
develop.  When  we  talk  of  age  in  terms  of  the 
calendar  we  speak  another  language  and  we  must 
also  employ  quite  different  standards  of  com- 
parison. 

The  new  outer  parts  of  the  forest  are  less  than  a 
century  old;  some  of  it  is  much  less.  The  live 
oaks,  those  patriarchs  of  the  forest,  date  much 


IN  THE  PRIMEVAL  FOREST      231 

farther  back — some  of  them  doubtless  are  sev- 
eral hundred  years  old.  The  exclusively  tropical 
parts  of  the  forests  are  very  much  older.  It  has 
required  much  time  for  sufficient  leaf  mold  to 
accumulate  to  prepare  the  way  for  these  fastidious 
warriors.  This  could  only  begin  after  the  ham- 
mock was  dense  enough  to  repel  the  fires  that  for 
ages  crippled  them.  This  mold  is  sometimes  two 
or  more  feet  deep.  The  age,  then,  of  this  finished 
forest  must  be  reckoned  not  by  centuries  but  by 
milleniums. 

But  an  enemy  has  arrived,  against  which  the 
hammocks  have  no  defense,  and  this  is  civilized 
man.  The  farmer  tempted  by  their  rich  soil  has 
attacked  them  with  fire  and  axe  in  order  to  build 
his  home  and  raise  fruit  and  vegetables.  It  has 
required  of  nature  centuries  to  perfect  a  hammock 
which  man  completely  destroys  in  a  few  weeks. 

The  human  is  a  greedy  creature  of  abundant 
and  costly  needs  and  he  destroys,  often  wantonly, 
that  which  nature  has  so  generously  provided. 
The  shells  of  the  fresh- water  mussel  are  now  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  buttons,  and  he  dredges 
millions  of  specimens  too  small  to  use  and  merely 
dumps  them  on  the  shore  to  die.  He  fills  the 


232  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

streams  with  the  poisonous  sewage  of  his  cities; 
he  drains  the  earth  of  its  oil  and  gas  and  lets  the 
one  run  to  waste  and  the  other  to  burn  as  it 
escapes.  He  exhausts  the  soil  and  then  abandons 
it;  he  is  a  destroyer  and  not  a  conserver. 


CHAPTER  XI 
Along  tHe  Stream 

ALL  the  streams  of  Lower  Florida  are  mere 
drains  of  the  Everglades  and  the  rather 
narrow    region    of   cypress  swamps.     I 
doubt  if  any  of  them  are  over  fifteen 
miles  long  and  like  everything  else  in  this  area 
they  had  their  birth  only  yesterday. 

The  southwestern  shore  of  the  State  is  less 
elevated  than  the  southeastern  and  the  slope  of 
two  thirds  of  the  lower  part  of  Florida  is  toward 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  When  Willoughby  crossed 
the  Everglades  he  entered  them  from  Harney 
River  and  at  his  Camp  Number  6,  about  due  west 
of  Miami  and  twenty  miles  from  the  east  coast,  he 
found  the  water  of  the  Glades  still  moving  to  the 
southwest.  The  streams  which  enter  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  within  our  region  have  no  real  valleys  and 
even  on  the  east  coast,  where  they  break  through 
the  great  rocky  ridge,  their  depressions  are  feebly 
233 


234          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

marked.  The  upper  parts  of  the  streams  are  ill 
defined  in  the  great  swamp.  Their  lowest  parts  are 
mere  lagoons,  ramifying  among  the  mangroves. 
/  It  has  been  asserted  that  within  the  lifetime 
of  our  plants  and  animals  the  peninsula  of  Florida 
was  elevated  until  a  land  connection  was  estab- 
lished with  the  Island  of  Cuba  and  that  over  this 
land  way  much  of  our  tropical  life  has  migrated. 
To  form  such  a  passageway  it  would  have  been 
necessary  to  elevate  the  whole  area  three  fourths 
of  a  mile,  and  had  the  land  remained  at  this  level 
long  enough  for  any  considerable  migration  our 
streams  would  have  eroded  deep  valleys  in  the 
soft  rock.  The  surface  of  the  peninsula  would 
have  been  worn  into  a  very  irregular  topography 
and  the  valleys  once  occupied  by  the  streams  would 
now  be  fiordlike  inlets  of  great  depth.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  the  beds  of  our  streams  are  com- 
posed of  Pleistocene  deposits,  and  none  of  them 
has  ever  been  lowered  below  their  present  level. 
An  additional  proof  that  Cuba  and  Florida  have 
never  been  connected  since  the  present  flora  and 
fauna  have  existed  lies  in  the  fact  that  Cuba  with 
a  thousand  species  of  land  snails  possesses  one  of 
the  richest  mollusk  faunas  on  earth.  Had  a  land 


Upper  View.     Mouth  of  Little  River 
Lower  View.     Same  Stream  a  Short  Distance  above  Mouth 

Photo  by   Everett  A.  P.  Marguett 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  235 

bridge  existed  it  is  certain  that  with  the  advent 
of  tropical  plants  a  large  number  of  Cuban  snails 
would  have  migrated  to  our  region.  As  it  is  one  can 
almost  count  on  his  fingers  all  such  species  living 
within  our  territory  or  which  by  any  possibility 
could  have  been  derived  from  them.  This  is 
exactly  the  condition  we  would  expect  to  find 
if  life  from  Cuba  had  been  brought  to  Florida  by 
ocean  currents. 

Florida  is  so  lacking  in  any  striking  natural 
features  that  the  few  it  possesses  receive  exagger- 
ated names,  and  so  it  happens  these  short  water 
courses  have  been  called  "rivers."  They  are  all 
divided  into  two  quite  distinct  parts — first  an 
upper,  fresh-water  stretch  reduced  to  a  rivulet  or 
a  dry  bed  in  winter  or  becoming  a  powerful 
stream  in  the  rainy  season;  and  second,  a  lower, 
estuarine  part  of  generally  brackish  water  in  which 
the  tide  ebbs  and  flows.  A  few  of  them  on  the 
east  coast  flow  between  low  limestone  walls,  hav- 
ing doubtless  begun  their  existence  as  water 
passages  under  the  rock.  Cutler  and  Snapper 
creeks  were  examples  of  this  before  their  channels 
were  artificially  opened,  and  Arch  Creek  still 
passes  under  a  natural  bridge. 


236  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

On  the  east  coast  the  rocky  rim  of  the  Ever- 
glades is  slightly  elevated  and  there  are  rapids 
where  the  streams  break  through.  In  the  estu- 
arine  parts  there  is  often  a  depth  of  six  to  ten  feet 
caused  by  the  scouring  action  of  the  tides  and  the 
solution  of  the  rock — all  aided  by  a  recent  slight 
subsidence  of  the  land.  On  the  southeast  part  of 
the  State  there  are,  from  north  to  south,  New 
River,  Snake,  and  Arch  creeks,  Little  and  Miami 
rivers,  Snapper,  Cutler,  and  Black  creeks  and  Chis 
Cut.  On  the  south  are  Taylor  River  and  an  un- 
named stream  which  drains  Cuthbert  Lake.  The 
streams  of  the  lower  west  coast  are,  from  south 
to  north,  Big  Sable  Creek,  Jos,  Shark,  Harney, 
Fatsallehonetha,  Rogers,  Chittahatchee,  Fatla- 
thatchee,  Alcatapacpachee,  and  Lakpahatchee  riv- 
ers, Weikiva  Inlet,  Chokoloskee,  and  Corkscrew 
rivers,  with  several  fortunately  unnamed  outlets. 
Some  of  the  above  have  names  sufficiently  long 
and  complicated  for  streams  a  thousand  miles  in 
length;  obviously  they  are  Seminole,  and  they 
have  abundant  time  to  pronounce  them. 

There  is  often  a  residue  of  grayish  or  slate 
colored  marl  deposited  in  and  around  the  border 
of  the  Everglades,  and  some  of  this  is  carried  down 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  237 

by  the  streams  during  high  water  to  form  exten- 
sive mud  flats  at  their  mouths.  Muck  and  peat 
may  be  added  by  the  rank  vegetation  which 
springs  up  on  it.  A  bar  frequently  forms -just 
outside  the  debouchure.  I  believe  these  bars  are 
formed  in  quite  the  same  way  that  are  the  parallel 
islands  and  peninsulas  along  the  coasts — that  is, 
by  two  opposing  currents. 

A  trip  up  any  of  these  streams  reveals  much  of 
beauty  and  interest.  Having  crossed  the  outer 
bar,  where  the  water  may  be  so  shallow  that  it  is 
difficult  to  pass  with  a  skiff,  one  at  once  finds  a 
depth  of  from  six  to  ten  feet,  and  this  depth  may 
be  carried  for  a  long  distance  up  the  estuary.  Gen- 
erally the  bottom  is  of  solid  limestone,  with  an 
occasional  mud  bar.  The  lower  course  of  the 
stream  is  likely  tortuous  and  bordered  with  a 
dense  growth  of  mangroves  and  other  littoral 
trees.  These  are  often  large  and  tall,  their  tops 
completely  arching  the  estuary.  The  low  shores 
are  a  tangle  of  roots,  and  the  mud  is  thickly  stud- 
ded with  the  quill-like  pneumatophores  of  the 
white  and  black  mangrove.  In  this  complex  will 
be  found  two  species  of  giant  Acrostichums,  half 
aquatic  ferns  which  are  equally  at  home  in  brack- 


238          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

ish  or  fresh-water  mud.  One  of  these  reaches  a 
height  of  twelve  feet  and  the  growth  is  very  dense. 
Two  lusty  vines  or  sprawlers  (Ecastophyttum 
brownii  and  Rhabdadenia  biflora)  entwine  the 
shrubs  and  trees,  sometimes  attaining  the  forest 
roof;  both  bear  attractive  white  flowers.  A  hand- 
some broad-leaved  tree  (Crescentia  cucurbitana) , 
one  of  the  tropical  calabashes,  is  abundant  and 
carries  its  curious  purple  blossoms  and  large  oval 
fruits  at  one  and  the  same  time.  Here  and  there 
the  mud  slopes  smoothly  down  to  the  water,  free 
\  from  any  kind  of  growth,  and  very  rarely  one  sees 
a  swift  movement  and  hears  a  commotion  as  an 
alligator  rushes  down  this  "crawl"  into  the  water. 
Still  more  rarely  something  which  resembles  a  long, 
straight  saw  palmetto  stem  is  seen  floating  but 
approached  it  disappears  with  a  swirl  and  splash, 
for  a  second  revealing  a  crocodile  (Crocodilus 
acutus).  This  saurian  is  found  in  the  United 
States  from  the  upper  end  of  Biscayne  Bay  to 
Cape  Sable  and  inhabits  a  large  part  of  tropical 
America.  It  has  been  maintained  to  be  of  very 
recent  record  in  Florida,  but  Stejneger  has  called 
attention  to  Rafmesque's  publication  concerning 
it  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette  of  1822.  This  strange, 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  239 

half -demented  naturalist  had  a  remarkable  faculty 
for  finding  rare  and  unknown  animals. 

The  crocodile  may  be  distinguished  from  the 
much  more  common  alligator  by  its  narrow  snout, 
by  its  greater  activity,  and  by  the  character  of  its 
nest.  It  simply  scoops  out  a  hole  in  the  sand  and 
deposits  fifty  to  seventy-five  eggs  in  successive 
layers,  smoothing  over  the  cache  in  a  perfectly 
level  manner.  The  alligator  lays  its  eggs  well 
back  from  the  fresh-water  streams,  the  nest  being 
hidden  in  vegetation  and  finally  finished  with  a 
mound  of  leaves,  dead  wood,  or  stumps.  In  their 
battles  the  clumsy  alligator  is  no  match  for  the 
crocodile  with  its  powerful  array  of  long,  sharp 
teeth.  For  much  information  concerning  these 
giant  reptiles  I  am  indebted  to  Willoughby  who 
tells  (in  Across  the  Everglades)  of  killing  a  thirteen- 
foot  specimen,  and  also  to  Dimock's  accounts  of 
them  in  his  Florida  Enchantments.  He  captured 
one  on  the  south  shore  of  the  mainland  fourteen 
feet  and  two  inches  long.  Dimock  also  gives  very 
interesting  accounts  of  alligators. 

I  doubt  if  the  latter  reptile  has  ever  been  so 
abundant  or  aggressive  in  Lower  Florida  as  it  was 
formerly  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State.  I 


240  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

have  never  heard  of  it  voluntarily  attacking  a  full- 
grown  person  in  our  region,  though  tales  are  told 
of  its  catching  and  eating  children.  Bartram  tells 
some  astonishing  stories  of  the  vast  numbers,  great 
size,  and  ferocity  of  this  reptile  on  the  St.  John's 
River.  He  states  that  he  was  repeatedly  attacked 
by  alligators  and  obliged  to  fight  for  his  life;  that 
they  actually  endeavored  to  upset  his  boat.  In 
a  narrow  place  in  the  river,  he  relates,  the  water 
was  filled  almost  solid  with  various  kinds  of  fish, 
and  to  prey  upon  these  the  alligators  assembled 
in  countless  numbers.  He  goes  on  to  say  that  the 
latter  were  so  close  together  that  it  would  have 
been  possible  to  walk  across  the  stream  from  shore 
to  shore  on  their  heads.  His  description  of  these 
animals  as  he  saw  them  on  the  St.  John's  is  so 
perfect  that  I  cannot  resist  the  temptation  to  give 
it  literally.  On  page  125  of  his  Travels: — "The 
alligator  when  full  grown  is  a  very  large  and 
terrible  creature,  and  of  prodigious  strength, 
activity,  and  swiftness  in  the  water.  I  have  seen 
them  twenty  feet  in  length,  and  some  are  supposed 
to  be  twenty-two  or  twenty-three  feet.  Their  body 
is  as  large  as  that  of  a  horse;  their  shape  exactly 
resembles  that  of  a  lizard,  except  their  tail,  which 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  241 

is  flat  or  cuneiform,  being  compressed  on  each  side, 
and  gradually  diminishing  from  the  abdomen  to 
the  extremity,  which,  with  the  whole  body,  is 
covered  with  horny  plates  or  squammae,  im- 
penetrable when  on  the  body  of  the  live  animal, 
even  to  a  rifle  ball,  except  about  their  head  and 
just  behind  their  forelegs  or  arms,  where,  it  is  said, 
they  are  only  vulnerable.  The  head  of  a  full- 
grown  one  is  about  three  feet,  and  the  mouth  opens 
about  the  same  length ;  their  eyes  are  small  in  pro- 
portion and  seem  sunk  deep  in  the  head  by  means 
of  the  prominency  of  the  brows;  the  nostrils  are 
large,  inflated,  and  prominent  on  top,  so  that  the 
head  resembles,  at  a  distance,  a  great  chunk  of 
wood  floating  about.  Only  the  upper  jaw  moves, 
which  they  raise  almost  perpendicular,  so  as  to 
form  a  right  angle  with  the  lower  one.  In  the  fore 
part  of  the  upper  jaw,  on  each  side,  just  under  the 
nostrils,  are  two  very  large,  thick,  strong  teeth  or 
tusks,  not  very  sharp,  but  rather  the  shape  of  a 
cone;  these  are  as  white  as  the  finest  polished 
ivory,  and  are  not  covered  by  any  skin  or  lips,  and 
always  in  sight,  which  gives  the  creature  a  fright- 
ful appearance:  in  the  lower  jaw  are  holes  opposite 
to  these  teeth,  to  receive  them:  when  they  clap 

16 


242  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

their  jaws  together  it  causes  a  surprising  noise, 
like  that  which  is  made  by  forcing  a  heavy  plank 
with  violence  upon  the  ground,  and  may  be  heard 
at  a  great  distance. 

"But  what  is  yet  more  surprising  to  a  stranger 
is  the  incredibly  loud  and  terrifying  roar  which 
they  are  capable  of  making,  especially  in  the  spring 
season,  their  mating  time.  It  most  resembles 
very  heavy,  distant  thunder,  not  only  shaking  the 
air  and  water,  but  causing  the  earth  to  tremble; 
and  when  hundreds  and  thousands  are  roaring  at 
the  same  time,  you  can  scarcely  be  persuaded  but 
that  the  whole  globe  is  violently  and  dangerously 
agitated. 

"An  old  champion,  who  is  perhaps  absolute 
sovereign  of  a  little  lake  or  lagoon  (where  fifty  less 
than  himself  are  obliged  to  content  themselves 
with  swelling  and  roaring  in  little  coves  round 
about)  darts  forth  from  the  reedy  coverts  all  at 
once,  on  the  surface  of  the  waters,  in  a  right  line; 
at  first  seemingly  as  rapid  as  lightning,  but  grad- 
ually more  slowly  until  he  arrives  at  the  center  of 
the  lake,  when  he  stops.  He  now  swells  himself 
by  drawing  in  wind  and  water  through  his  mouth, 
which  causes  a  loud,  sonorous  rattling  in  the  throat 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  243 

for  near  a  minute,  but  it  is  immediately  forced 
out  again  through  his  mouth  and  nostrils  with  a 
loud  noise,  brandishing  his  tail  in  air,  and  the 
vapor  ascending  from  his  nostrils  like  smoke.  At 
other  times,  when  swollen  to  an  extent  ready  to 
burst,  his  head  and  tail  lifted  up,  he  spins  or  twirls 
round  on  the  surface  of  the  water." 

I  know  of  nothing  more  fascinating  than  some 
of  these  lower  stream  reaches,  and  the  effect  as  one 
drifts  silently  along  them  by  moonlight  is  inde- 
scribable. It  is  all  so  uncanny  it  seems  more  like 
some  scene  of  middle  geological  age  than  of  the 
present,  and  I  never  visit  one  of  these  estuaries 
without  half  expecting  to  see  Plesiosauri  crawling 
about  on  the  mud  or  Pterodactyls  hanging  from 
the  branches. 

There  is  generally  a  stretch  of  brackish  prairie 
just  inside  the  outer  screen  of  mangrove  and  this 
is  more  or  less  covered  by  saw  grass.  The  banks 
of  the  stream  here  may  be  bordered  with  cattails 
(Typha  angustifolia)  and  the  Jussicea  peruviana, 
the  latter  ranging  from  Peru  northward  through- 
out the  Florida  peninsula.  It  grows  along  the 
muddy  banks  of  the  estuaries  and  bears  handsome 
yellow  flowers,  sometimes  rooting  in  the  muck  or 


244          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

half  floating  on  the  water.  It  sends  up  from  its 
stems  roots  which  resemble  ordinary  ones,  but 
their  office  is  strictly  to  aerate  the  plant  for  in 
reality  they  are  simply  oxygen  pumps.  The 
beautiful  Crinum  americanum  with  its  large, 
starry,  pure  white  flowers  is  often  common  along 
the  banks  and  one  or  more  of  the  elegant  spider 
lilies  (Hymenocallis)  are  seen  peeping  out  of  the 
saw  grass.  Farther  up  the  estuary  where  the 
ground  rises  a  little  Myrica  or  wax  myrtle,  Annona 
or  pond  apple,  coco  plums  (Chrysobalanus),  and 
the  swamp  magnolia  begin  to  appear. 

At  the  end  of  the  brackish  water  where  the 
rapids  commence,  a  small  mollusk  is  sometimes 
found  in  great  numbers  on  the  rocks.  This  is  one 
of  theNeritinas  (N.  reclivata) .  Its  nearly  globular 
shell  is  dark  green  with  narrow,  longitudinal 
black  stripes,  and  the  accomplished  animal  can 
live  in  fresh  or  brackish  water  or  even  in  the  air. 
It  is  probably  in  process  of  becoming  an  air- 
breather  altogether.  Two  members  of  the  same 
genus  live  in  the  open  sea  along  our  coasts;  this 
has  gone  landward  to  the  intersection  of  fresh  and 
brackish  water,  while  several  species  in  other 
regions  live  in  water  that  is  wholly  fresh,  and  at 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  245 

some  distance  from  the  sea.  In  the  Philippines 
are  some  species  of  this  genus  (Neritodryas,  from 
Nereis,  a  sea  nymph,  and  Dryas,  a  tree  nymph) 
which  live  on  trees  at  a  distance  oj  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  ocean!  The  genus  was  probably  derived 
from  Nerita,  a  very  similar  group  that  is  wholly 
marine. 

Farther  upstream  where  the  water  is  entirely 
fresh  one  finds  a  variety  of  small  mollusks  in  the 
sandy  muddy  bottom;  several  species  of  Plan- 
orbis,  with  their  flat,  closely  coiled  shells,  so  that 
there  is  a  depression  at  both  the  spire  and  base. 
There  is  a  related  snail  living  in  the  upper  reaches 
of  the  streams  the  shell  of  which  resembles  Plan- 
orbis  and  is  likely  an  aberrant  member  of  that 
genus.  It  has  been  called  by  several  generic 
names  but  is  generally  known  as  Ameria  scalaris. 
In  some  cases  the  shell  is  disk-shaped  like  Plan- 
orbis,  in  others  it  looks  as  though  the  spire  had 
been  awkwardly  pushed  up  when  in  a  plastic 
state;  there  is  every  variation  between  extreme 
forms.  They  grow  by  millions  in  the  Everglades 
and  scarcely  any  two  are  exactly  alike. 

Still  another  interesting  fresh-water  mollusk  is 
found  in  the  streams  of  Lower  Florida.  It  is  an 


246          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Ampullaria  or  "apple  snail,"  called  "idol  snail" 
by  the  Indians  of  South  America  who  hold  it  in 
reverence.  All  the  many  species  of  Ampullaria 
inhabit  the  warmer  parts  of  the  earth,  and  usually 
have  large,  globular  shells.  The  animal  is  pro- 
vided with  a  gill  for  use  in  breathing  under  water. 
In  addition  it  has  a  pair  of  "siphons,"  the  left  one 
developed  into  a  long  tube  so  when  lying  on  the 
bottom  in  shallow  water  it  can  extend  it  to  the 
surface  and  breathe  air.  Here  is  a  case  in  which 
the  breathing  operations  go  on  perfectly  whether  the 
animal  is  on  duty  above  or  having  the  watch  below. 
When  the  river  goes  dry  they  burrow  deep  in  the 
mud  and  enter  a  state  of  aestivation,  during  which 
their  various  organs  practically  cease  to  function. 
It  is  said  that  some  of  the  species  may  be  taken 
from  the  mud  during  this  sleep  and  kept  for  years 
in  the  air  without  injury. 

Where  the  streams  of  the  southeast  coast  flow 
through  rocky  hammocks  they  are  very  attractive. 
Some  of  them  flow  for  quite  a  distance  beneath 
the  rock  to  appear  farther  down  as  great  springs, 
and  after  a  short  visible  course  may  disappear 
again.  Along  their  hammock  borders  there  may 
be  sinks  and  small  caverns  which  are  sure  to  be 


Upper  View.     Curious  Root  Growth  of  Annona  which  Serves  as  an  Oxygei 
Pump  for  the  Tree 

Drawn  by   Forrest   Clark 

Lower  View.     Stream  Reach  with  Brackish  Prairie  along  its  Banks 

Photo  by   Pliny   Simpson 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  247 

veritable  fern  gardens.  The  exceedingly  dainty 
spleenwort  (Asplenium  dentatum)  often  covers  the 
damp  rocks  and  walls  of  the  grottoes  and  in  places 
its  delicate  fronds  are  so  crowded  that  they  com- 
pletely hide  the  surface  of  the  rock  on  which  they 
grow.  They  form  a  most  elaborate  and  dainty 
tapestry. 

Along  the  upper  reaches  we  find  more  prairie 
but  the  vegetation  differs  from  that  of  the  brack- 
ish glades  farther  down.  A  few  plants  only  are 
identical  and  among  these  is  the  saw  grass  (Cla- 
dium  effusum)  and  a  tall,  striking  reed  (Phragmites 
communis)  which  is  found  in  Bermuda,  Europe, 
and  throughout  the  eastern  United  States.  It 
bears  large,  handsome  panicles  of  purplish  flowers 
which  have  a  satiny  sheen,  and  broad,  glaucous 
leaves.  Sometimes  one  may  see  the  smaller  mink 
(probably  Putorius  nigrescens)  scurrying  across  an 
open  space  or  slipping  gracefully  into  the  water. 
A  pair  of  them  lived  in  the  lowland  in  front  of 
my  house  and  they  appeared  to  subsist  chiefly  on 
land  crabs.  These  they  catch  and  after  biting 
off  most  of  their  claws  and  legs  they  play  with 
them,  tossing  them  in  the  air  and  catching  them 
as  a  cat  does  a  mouse.  More  rarely  a  coon  is 


248  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

seen,  for  it  is  largely  nocturnal;  it  also  preys  on 
land  crabs.  Often  in  the  morning  I  have  found 
the  fresh  carapaces  of  the  latter  lying  along  my 
lowland  walk,  with  the  soft  parts  completely 
cleaned  out  by  these  animals.  The  land  crabs 
are  found  as  far  back  as  the  Everglades. 

There  are  a  number  of  interesting  aquatic  plants 
in  the  freshwater  reaches  of  the  streams.  In 
places  the  water  purslane  (Isnardia  repens)  fills 
the  channel  until  it  forms  a  dam.  It  has  thick, 
bronzy,  green  leaves,  and  is  a  member  of  the 
evening  primrose  family.  Here  too  is  the  pretty 
water  pennywort  (Hydrocotyle  umbellatd]  with 
round  leaves  elevated  a  little  above  the  mud, 
and  the  Proserpinacas  with  floating  stems  and 
several  kinds  of  leaves.  In  such  places  one  may 
find  a  lovely,  low-growing,  half-creeping  plant 
(Monniera)  with  bright  green,  succulent  leaves 
and  pretty  purple  flowers  forming  a  sod,  and 
often'  with  it  the  dainty  Samolus  or  water  pim- 
pernel with  small  but  attractive  flowers.  Here 
I  have  found,  either  floating  or  stranded  in  the 
mud,  one  of  the  strangest  plants  in  the  world.  It 
is  a  Lemna  or  duckweed  (L.  minor  probably) 
which  has  a  wide  distribution  in  North  America, 


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ALONG  THE  STREAM  249 

Europe,  and  the  tropics  of  both  Old  and  New 
worlds;  it  is  the  smallest  flowering  plant  known! 
A  disk  less  than  a  tenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
floats  on  the  surface  of  the  water, — not  a  leaf,  as 
we  might  suppose,  but  the  entire  plant,  with  the 
tiny  rootlet  which  hangs  below  it.  From  the  edge 
or  the  upper  side  of  this  little  oval,  light  green 
disk,  flowers,  consisting  of  a  stamen  and  pistil  sur- 
rounded by  a  tiny  spathe,  appear  from  a  fissure. 
It  is  generally  propagated,  however,  by  a  sort  of 
bud  which  springs  from  a  cleft  in  the  edge  or  base 
of  the  body,  and  usually  four  or  five  plants  of  vari- 
ous sizes  may  be  seen  attached  to  each  other.  It  is, 
then,  not  only  the  smallest  flowering  plant  but 
the  simplest.  It  is  a  distant  relation  of  the  skunk 
cabbage  and  Indian  turnip  of  the  Northern  States. 
Sometimes  the  stream  flows  through  a  cypress 
swamp  and  in  it  will  be  found  much  of  interest. 
Such  spots  are  a  bit  uncanny  by  reason  of  the  long 
moss  which  hangs  from  the  trees  and  imparts  a 
somber  funereal  appearance  to  the  scene.  The 
small,  delicate  cypress  leaves  are  arranged  in  two 
series  along  the  young  deciduous  stems  and  look 
as  though  they  were  pinnate.  The  great  trunks 
have  conical,  fluted,  or  buttressed  bases,  and  in 


250  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

large  specimens  may  be  eighteen  feet  or  more  in 
diameter  at  the  ground.  Here  it  does  not  attain 
to  the  height  or  dimensions  it  does  farther  north, 
but  it  becomes  one  of  our  largest  trees.  Scattered 
through  the  swamp  are  erect,  conical,  woody 
growths  known  as  "cypress  knees,"  sometimes  as 
tall  as  a  man  or  even  more,  with  neither  branches 
nor  leaves.  To  one  who  has  never  seen  them 
before  they  are  certainly  most  incomprehensible. 
Covered  with  bark  and  often  fluted  or  buttressed, 
the  growth  of  the  wood  usually  goes  up  one  side 
of  the  knee  and  turning  at  the  top  passes  down  the 
other,  the  whole  being  occasionally  hollow.  For 
a  long  time  scientists  were  unable  to  account  for 
these  strange  growths,  but  it  is  now  generally  con- 
ceded that  they  are  pneumatophores  or  aerating 
organs  which  furnish  oxygen  for  the  trees,  and 
the  hollow,  fluted  bases  of  the  trunks  probably 
function  in  the  same  way. 

»  As  one  proceeds  through  the  swampy  ground 
along  the  stream  he  will  notice  in  many  places 
that  the  mud  of  the  banks  is  covered  with  tree 
roots  of  various  kinds.  They  not  only  come  to 
the  surface  but  often  project  up  and  they  roll 
over  and  clasp  each  other  in  a  most  fantastic 


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ALONG  THE  STREAM  251 

tangle  unpleasantly  suggesting  a  lot  of  interwoven 
serpents.  Roots  of  the  swamp  bay  run  straight 
over  the  mud  while  those  of  the  magnolia,  cassine, 
bayberry,  and  some  others  twist  and  squirm  into  a 
bewildering  complex.  Here  and  there  irregularly 
rounded  knobs  are  thrust  up  and  others  are  dis- 
torted into  loops.  The  roots  of  the  Annonas  often 
rise  well  above  the  general  surface  of  the  swamp 
and  form  the  most  curious  growths  imaginable. 
They  are  sometimes  locked  in  close  embrace  and 
roll  over  and  over  as  if  engaged  in  a  death  struggle, 
or  again  they  may  be  turned  into  fantastic  coils 
and  volutes  which  look  like  a  lot  of  senseless  wood 
carving.  Ficus  aurea  often  grows  on  the  higher 
parts  of  the  banks,  though  it  does  not  reach  a  great 
size  in  such  unfavorable  situations.  The  trees 
usually  stand  elevated  on  their  roots  in  quite  the 
same  way  as  the  mangroves,  and  when  young  they 
have  such  a  dainty  appearance  that  they  impress 
one  with  the  idea  that  they  are  afraid  of  wetting 
their  feet. 

Why  should  all  these  diversified  roots  seek  the 
surface  and  even  project  up  into  the  air?  They 
certainly  appear  crowded  and  forced  upward  for 
room.  I  at  first  thought  this  to  be  the  case. 


252  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

There  is  often  a  depth  of  several  feet  of  muck  and 
peat  below  and  if  one  investigates  he  will  find  that 
very  few  roots  occupy  it.  So,  then,  there  is  no 
lack  of  space  beneath  the  surface  and  the  "crowd- 
ed out "  theory  fails.  Without  a  doubt  they  come 
to  the  top  of  the  mud  "voluntarily"  and  into  the 
air  to  absorb  oxygen,  as  the  soil  of  swamps  is  almost 
destitute  of  that  prime  necessity.  Often  these 
roots  are  sent  up  to  a  height  of  several  inches  and 
then  folded  back  so  that  the  returning  growth  is 
in  contact  with  the  ascending,  thus  forming  a 
perfect  loop.  These  loops  seem  to  explain  the 
growth  of  the  curious  cypress  knees  which  in 
ancestral  forms  doubtless  grew  in  the  same  way 
but  have  now  been  further  modified  by  consolida- 
tion into  one  united  growth. 

It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  a  soul  throughout 
nature,  that  the  animals,  and  I  like  to  believe, 
the  plants,  to  a  certain  extent,  think,  something 
in  the  same  manner  that  human  beings  do.  Howe 
invents  the  sewing  machine,  Bell  the  telephone, 
McCormick  the  reaper— all  devices  to  perform  some 
service  for  the  benefit  of  man.  A  palm  sends  its 
growing  stem  deep  into  the  earth  and  buries  its 
vitals  to  protect  them  from  fire;  the  mangrove 


ALONG  THE  STREAM  253 

raises  itself  high  on  stilted  roots  in  order  that  it 
may  live  above  the  water  and  breathe;  an  orchid 
perfects  a  complicated  device  to  compel  honey- 
loving  insects  to  cross-fertilize  its  pollen.  Animals 
resort  to  all  manner  of  tricks  to  conceal  themselves 
from  their  enemies.  All  these  work  not  merely  for 
themselves  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  race  to  which 
they  belong.  If  the  work  of  man  is  the  result  of 
thought  that  of  animals  and  plants  must  be  so 
in  some  lesser  degree.  If  man  developed  from  a 
lower  animal,  the  superior  from  the  inferior,  where 
may  we  draw  the  line  between  reason  and  instinct  ? 
Gradually  as  we  ascend  the  stream  it  finally 
loses  its  character  and  becomes  a  mere,  ill-defined, 
shallow  drain  for  the  swamp  from  which  it  flows. 
The  Everglades  lie  just  before  us  stretching  away 
in  monotonous  grandeur;  saw  grass  and  other  low 
vegetation  cover  the  soft  mud;  the  channel  is 
finally  lost  in  a  network  of  slight  depressions 
and  the  stream  becomes  merged  into  the  mighty 
prairie. 


CHAPTER  XH 
Along  tKe  Mangrove  SKore 


M 


ANGROVES  flourish  along  tropical 
and  semi-tropical  seashores  the  world 
around,  though  they  are  not  found  in 
Hawaii  and  a  few  other  localities. 
They  usually  grow  on  the  borders  of  brackish 
bays,  lagoons,  and  lower  stretches  of  streams  but 
are  sometimes  met  with  on  open  and  even  rocky 
beaches.  While  there  are  several  species  in  the 
Old  World,  only  one,  the  common  red  mangrove 
(Rhizophora  mangle) ,  is  found  in  the  Western  Hemi- 
sphere, and  this  has  a  fine  development  in  southern 
Florida.  It  has  been  reported  as  ranging  north  to 
Cedar  Keys  on  the  west  coast  of  our  State  and  to 
Mosquito  Inlet  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsula. 
It  is  a  tender  tree  and  in  time  of  severe  frost  has 
repeatedly  been  killed  outright  in  its  northern 
range;  hence  the  different  records  regarding  its 
distribution  in  the  State  do  not  agree.  During  the 
254 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE      255 

heavy  frost  of  1886  it  was  totally  destroyed  near 
its  northern  limit  on  the  west  coast,  and  many 
trees  were  badly  injured  as  far  south  as  Cape 
Sable.  I  visited  this  coast  in  1892,  sailing  along 
it  from  Terraceia  Island  in  Tampa  Bay  to  the 
lower  end  of  Sarasota  Bay,  a  distance  of  more  than 
twenty-five  miles,  and  everywhere  the  mangroves 
were  dead  and  decaying, — a  most  melancholy 
sight.  Here  and  there  at  long  intervals  the  club- 
shaped  seedlings  had  drifted  in  from  more  favored 
regions  and  were  becoming  established,  these  be- 
ing the  only  living  mangroves  I  saw. 

Ordinarily  the  American  mangrove  is  a  large 
shrub  or  perhaps  a  small  low-headed  tree  standing 
on  arched  roots,  and  is  often  without  any  regular 
trunk.  In  certain  areas,  notably  the  great  swamp 
east  of  Florida  city,  it  is  only  a  low  shrub  which 
rarely  reaches  a  height  of  three  feet;  except  in 
size  it  has  the  usual  habit.  Among  the  Ten 
Thousand  Islands,  in  places  along  the  south  coast 
of  the  mainland,  and  about  the  shores  of  upper 
Biscayne  Bay,  it  becomes  a  tall  and  imposing  tree. 
In  the  islands  the  trunks  are  closely  huddled 
together;  they  seldom  attain  a  foot  in  diameter 
and  have  but  few  brace  roots,  or  even  none  at  all. 


256  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Along  the  west  shore  of  the  northern  part  of  Bis- 
cayne  Bay  these  trees  reach  their  greatest  dimen- 
sions, individuals  sometimes  attaining  a  diameter 
of  four  feet  and  a  height  of  a  hundred.  As  a  rule 
these  great  trees  stand  at  some  distance  apart  but 
their  immense  crowns  intermingle.  Formerly  a 
magnificent  forest,  chiefly  mangroves,  stood  just 
below  the  mouth  of  Little  River  and  in  it  grew  a 
number  of  the  largest  sized  and  finest  specimens. 
Some  of  these  were  braced  by  air  roots  fully 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter  that  sprung  from  a 
height  of  twenty-five  feet  above  the  ground,  and 
in  other  cases  slender  roots  dropped  from  the 
branches  fully  thirty-five  feet  above  the  soil.  The 
trunks  were  straight  and  smooth,  usually  without 
branches  below  their  stately  crowns  sixty  to  sev- 
enty feet  above.  These  trees  easily  ranked  among 
the  most  wonderful  vegetable  growths  of  the 
State  of  Florida.  They  were  sacrificed  to  human 
avarice  for  the  tannin  in  their  bark  and  the 
potential  furniture  in  their  close-grained,  red  wood. 
To-day  the  whole  forest  is  a  desolate  ruin. 

Although  attempts  are  made  to  explain  the 
great  diversity  in  the  growth  of  the  mangrove 
none  are  convincing. 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE        257 

A  mangrove  forest  advances  into  shoal  water  by 
means  of  its  arching  roots  and  the  young  plants 
which  spring  up  in  very  shallow  places.  The  roots 
do  not  merely  drop  into  the  mud  and  take  hold 
but  they  often  continue  to  grow  on,  arching  over 
and  over,  and  extending  for  thirty  or  forty  feet. 
Others  drop  from  the  branches  twenty  feet  above 
and  make  fast  in  the  mud.  Occasionally  a  hori- 
zontal limb  drops  a  root  which  fastens  in  the  mud, 
after  which  the  original  tree  dies  and  the  new  root 
becomes  a  tree,  or  the  new  may  eventually  become 
separated  from  the  parent  and  both  live  inde- 
pendently. 

In  the  economy  of  the  tree  the  roots  have  a  four- 
fold function.  First, — they  render  the  ordinary 
service  of  bringing  up  crude  sap  like  all  conven- 
tional roots.  Second, — they  act  as  pneumato- 
phores  or  oxygen  gatherers  and  pumps.  The  soil 
in  swamps,  as  I  have  elsewhere  said,  is  lacking  in 
oxygen,  and  trees  living  in  them  must  resort  to 
special  devices  to  obtain  it.  The  mangroves  do 
this  by  exposing  a  great  mass  of  roots  to  the  atmos- 
phere. Third, —  they  elevate  the  body  of  the  tree 
well  above  standing  water,  for  if  the  bases  of  these 
semi-aquatic  trees  were  constantly  submerged  it 


258  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

would  kill  them.  Fourth, — they  form  the  most 
wonderful  system  for  bracing  and  holding  the 
trees  against  storms  and  the  fury  of  the  sea.  It 
is  rare  indeed  that  mangroves  are  injured  by  the 
assaults  of  the  most  violent  hurricanes. 

Besides  these  important  offices  for  the  tree, 
these  roots  greatly  assist  in  building  up  and  ex- 
tending the  land.  They  usually  grow  in  soft  mud, 
which  they  so  completely  fill  as  to  render  very 
firm.  When  a  tree  dies  its  roots  do  not  decay 
below  the  surface  of  the  mud  but  form  a  peat  in 
which  their  forms  are  distinctly  retained.  I  have 
often  seen  the  sea  encroaching  on  the  shore  and 
exposing  old  peat  which  was  almost  as  hard  as 
some  rock.  Nothing  could  possibly  be  devised 
better  than  these  tangled  roots  for  catching  and 
retaining  the  flotsam  and  jetsam  of  the  sea.  I 
never  look  at  these  veritable  traps,  filled  with  every 
conceivable  kind  of  trash,  without  thinking  of  the 
ballad  of  The  Spider  and  the  Fly  in  which  the 
latter  says  in  answer  to  the  invitation  of  the  for- 
mer: "He  who  goes  up  your  winding  stair  shall 
ne'er  come  down  again."  Whatever  is  carried  in 
among  these  roots  stays. 

The  growing  roots  vary  from  a  quarter  of  an 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       259 

inch  to  an  inch  in  diameter  and  are  very  tender 
about  the  growing  points  where  they  may  be 
snapped  off  like  a  young  shoot  of  asparagus. 
Each  rounded  point  is  protected  by  a  closely 
fitting,  horny,  brown  cap,  and  if,  before  it  reaches 
the  mud,  this  should  become  loosened  or  torn  off 
the  root  will  not  grow.  As  the  swinging  roots 
often  strike  each  other  or  may  be  abraded  in 
various  ways  they  are  not  infrequently  injured. 
Then,  as  a  general  thing,  several  roots  branch  out 
above  the  injured  and  dead  point,  all  of  which  may 
persist  until  they  reach  the  mud  and  become 
attached.  By  this  means  the  tree  gets  even  a 
firmer  hold  than  if  nothing  had  happened  and  turns 
misfortune  into  a  positive  advantage. 

In  order  to  extend  its  area  the  mangrove  resorts 
to  strange  expediencies.  Really  it  seems  endowed 
with  intelligence  and  cunning,  so  completely  does 
it  adapt  itself  to  its  very  peculiar  environment 
and  profit  by  every  feature  of  it.  Average  normal 
seeds  do  not  grow  until  in  the  ground  some  time, 
in  fact  botanists  now  hold  that  many  do  not  even 
ripen  on  the  plant  already  exhausted  by  strain  of 
blossoming  and  seeding  and  that  they  are  cast  off 
while  still  immature.  Hence  it  is  that  certain 


260  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

seeds  take  so  long  to  germinate.  Those  of  some 
palms,  for  example,  lie  in  the  ground  actually  for 
years  before  they  come  up.  But  the  tropics  is  a 
region  of  wonders  and  therefore  of  exceptions  to  or- 
dinary rules.  The  seeds  of  mangroves  sprout  while 
they  hang  on  the  tree,  sending  out  club-shaped  roots 
about  a  foot  long.  These  fall,  often  into  the  sea,  and 
may  drift  many  miles  to  new  localities.  The  grow- 
ing point  at  the  heavier  end  of  the  "club"  sends 
out  roots  rarely  while  floating ;  but  when  it  strands 
on  some  shallow  bank  it  at  once  becomes  attached 
to  the  mud  and  begins  its  career  as  a  new  tree.  I 
once  took  several  of  these  sprouted  seeds  and  in- 
serted them  into  mud  and  seaweed  just  below 
high  tide  and  in  forty-eight  hours  they  had  begun 
to  throw  out  roots.  In  a  week  nearly  all  of  them 
had  become  well  attached  and  established  as  little 
trees. 

Possibly  in  some  instances  seedlings  float  for  a 
year  or  even  longer  and  still  retain  their  vitality. 
More  often  they  fall  into  the  soft  mud  near  the 
parent  tree  and  again  they  seek  to  germinate  and 
grow  on  rough  bare  rocks.  When  they  drop  into 
soft  mud  or  water  they  maintain  a  vertical  position, 
the  growing  end  down.  But  if  the  young  plants 


>   fe 

> 

B 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       261 

fall  on  mud  too  firm  to  penetrate,  they  must  lie 
prostrate  and  seemingly  powerless, — but  not  so  at 
all; — in  a  short  time  roots  are  emitted  from  its 
base.  Those  from  the  upper  side  of  the  "club" 
being  strongest  and  directed  away  from  it  attach 
themselves  to  the  mud  and  begin  to  pull  the  little 
baby  tree  into  an  upright  position.  At  the  same 
time  the  small  trunk  curves  upward,  and  soon  the 
whole  stands  as  straight  as  a  soldier. 

Mangroves  grow  in  a  variety  of  situations;  on 
land  rarely  touched  by  high  tide  and  down  to  low- 
tide  mark,  but  not  below  this, — at  least  in  Florida. 
I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  large,  old  trees 
are  more  sensitive  to  excessive  wet  than  are  the 
younger,  smaller  ones.  Along  the  shores  of  Bis- 
cayne  Bay  I  have  seen  large  trees  at  about  the 
limit  of  low  tide  but  always  dead  or  unhealthy.  I 
take  this  as  an  indication  that  the  area  which  they 
occupy  is  subsiding  and  that  it  has  gone  down 
measurably  within  the  lifetime  of  these  old  trees. 
When  young  they  are  fairly  rapid  growers  but 
when  old  they  add  little  to  their  girth  each  year, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  age  of  the  larger 
specimens.  In  the  cooler  parts  of  the  earth  the 
trees  a$d  a  single  annual  layer  of  wood  that  is 


262  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

distinctly  marked  off  from  the  rest,  but  in  the 
hotter  regions  trees  make  a  growth  whenever  con- 
ditions are  favorable,  and  the  layers  of  wood  are 
not  necessarily  annual  and  are  often  ill  defined. 
It  is  probable  that  the  mangrove,  in  wet  situations, 
makes  but  a  single  growth  in  a  year,  but  its  layers 
of  wood  are  not  well  indicated.  However,  after 
carefully  studying  sections  of  these  large  trees  I 
have  placed  their  minimum  age  at  a  hundred 
years.  If  I  am  right  we  have  evidence  of  a 
subsidence  within  the  last  century  that  may  be 
measured  in  inches. 

A  walk  along  one  of  our  mangrove  shores,  if 
scrambling  and  falling  among  the  roots  may  be 
so  called,  is  extremely  interesting.  On  a  recent 
"stroll"  I  made  note  of  the  following  flotsam 
caught  among  the  roots :  leaves  in  great  quantity 
and  variety,  especially  those  of  Thalassia  (mana- 
tee grass)  and  Cymodoce  (turtle  grass),  both 
erroneously  called  seaweed.  The  bulky  masses  of 
these  contribute  greatly  towards  the  building  up 
of  the  land:  trunks  and  branches  of  trees,  saw 
logs,  pieces  of  wood,  some  from,  or  parts  of,  vessels : 
part  of  a  chair,  slabs  from  a  sawmill,  a  number  of 
coconuts  and  other  large  seeds,  a  part  of  a  saddle, 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       263 

bamboo  stems,  shingles,  parts  of  vegetable  crates, 
cigar  stumps,  a  bit  of  hose,  dead  land  crabs  and 
fishes,  the  remains  of  a  bird,  a  piece  of  rope,  a  few 
marine  shells,  onions,  a  royal  palm  and  a  coconut 
petiole,  and  many  corks  and  bottles — alas!  for  a 
dry  State  too! 

The  mangroves  must  have  some  especial  attrac- 
tion for  bottles  judging  from  their  abundance 
among  their  roots.  Beer  and  wine  bottles,  whisky 
flasks  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  bottles  with  wide 
or  narrow  necks,  long  bottles,  squat  bottles, — their 
number  is  legion.  An  innocent  stranger  would 
naturally  conclude  that  the  inhabitants  of  this 
region  must  be  a  set  of  besotted  drunkards,  but 
the  bottle  crop  must  be  laid  instead  to  the  passing 
steamers. 

Associated  with  the  mangroves  on  the  firmer 
land  is  another  littoral  tree  (Laguncularia)  com- 
monly called  ' '  white  mangrove. ' '  Along  Biscayne 
Bay  it  sometimes  attains  a  height  of  sixty  feet, 
but  is  oftener  a  large  shrub.  While  not  so  aggres- 
sive a  pioneer  as  the  mangrove  it  is  nevertheless  an 
active  land  builder.  It  has  a  device  of  its  own  for 
catching  trash  and  for  aeration  that  is  very  effec- 
tive. If  one  will  examine  the  mud  under  one  of 


264  M  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

these  trees  he  will  find  many  curious,  slender  stubs 
or  quill-like  growths  sometimes  a  foot  in  height, 
projecting  above  it  and  attached  to  the  under- 
ground roots  of  the  tree.  These  not  only  provide 
the  tree  with  oxygen  but  they  bind  the  mud  to- 
gether and  hold  all  the  finer  trash  which  passes 
through  the  wider  meshes  of  the  mangrove  roots. 

Yet  another  tree  is  often  associated  with  these 
called  the  "black  mangrove"  though  neither  it 
nor  the  white  is  really  related  to  the  true  man- 
grove. It  is  Avicennia  nitida,  a  tree  which  carries 
on  the  business  of  growing  these  strange  pneumato- 
phores  (as  the  quill-like  growths  are  called)  to  a 
greater  extent  even  than  does  the  white  mangrove. 
Here  it  often  becomes  a  large  tree  and  the  mud 
beneath  it,  and  for  some  distance  away,  is  usually 
thickly  covered  with  its  quills  considerably  taller 
than  those  of  the  Laguncularia.  It  has  the  habit 
of  viviparity,  like  the  mangrove,  but  developed 
differently.  Its  large  flattened  seeds  germinate 
on  the  tree,  the  two  seed  lobes  or  cotyledons  being 
folded,  and  the  roots  do  not  greatly  develop  until 
after  they  have  fallen. 

There  is  a  variety  of  vegetation  along  the  man- 
grove shore  and  a  little  distance  back  in  the 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       265 

marshy  ground,  forming  what  is  called  the  littoral. 
It  has  been  supposed  that  we  have  two  Annonas 
or  pond  apples,  Annona  glabra,  with  rather  broad, 
glaucous  leaves,  and  sepals  and  petals  of  about  the 
same  length;  and  Annona  palustris  with  narrower, 
bright  green  leaves  and  the  sepals  longer  than  the 
petals.  But  it  turns  out  that  the  young  plants 
generally  have  the  leaves  of  the  former,  this  being 
sometimes  true  of  vigorous  shoots  on  large  trees. 
I  have  repeatedly  seen  the  two  kinds  of  leaves  on 
one  tree  and  the  flowers  are  extremely  variable. 
Around  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Okeechobee 
this  tree  forms  dense,  lofty  forests  standing  on 
stilted  roots  like  the  mangrove.  The  wood  is 
extremely  light  and  soft  and  is  used  for  rafts  and 
floats  for  seines,  while  the  roots  are  made  into 
razor  strops. 

Two  vines  are  common,  Ecastophyllum  browni, 
an  immense  sprawler,  and  Rhabdadenia  bifiora,  both 
of  which  reach  to  the  tops  of  the  tallest  trees. 
Here  too  is  a  magnolia  supposed  to  extend  its 
range  to  the  maritime  swamps  of  New  England, 
and  a  persimmon  identified  as  the  northern  one 
but  now  considered  distinct.  It  may  grow  in  the 
edge  of  standing  water  but  the  northern  species 


266  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

is  a  strictly  dryland  tree.  The  small  fruited  cala- 
bash (Crescentw  cucurbitana)  is  quite  common  in 
fresh  and  brackish  swamps  also  in  the  high  ham- 
mocks. In  the  more  open  spots,  saw  grass  and  a 
Kosteletzkya,  which,  in  spite  of  its  atrocious  name 
has  handsome  pink  flowers,  are  often  found  and 
sometimes  patches  of  saw  palmetto  occur.  Here 
in  the  rich,  damp  muck  beyond  the  reach  of  forest 
fires  it  is  a  sprawler  often  reaching  tree-like  propor- 
tions. Two  or  three  bulbous  plants  (Crinum  and 
Hymenocallis)  brighten  the  littoral  swamps  with 
their  handsome  white  flowers  and  the  two  giant 
ferns  (Acrostichum  sp.)  are  intermingled  with  two 
lesser  ones, — the  royal  fern  and  a  Blechnum.  The 
royal  fern  is  perhaps  the  most  widely  distributed 
plant  of  Florida,  being,  according  to  Small,  cos- 
mopolitan in  its  distribution  with  the  exception 
only  of  the  boreal  regions. 

A  large  shrub  is  often  seen, — the  button  bush 
(Cephalanthus)  with  opposite  leaves  and  globular 
heads  of  white  flowers.  It  is  also  a  widespread 
plant,  being  found  from  Canada  to  California 
and  south  to  Texas  and  Lower  Florida.  For  some 
unknown  reason  it  becomes  a  large  tree  in  Arkan- 
sas, just  as  the  mangrove  attains  a  great  size  on 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       267 

the  shores  of  Biscayne  Bay.  A  holly  (Ilex  cassine) 
with  glossy  leaves  and  lovely  scarlet  berries  is 
common  and  a  swamp  bay  which  is  very  close  to 
the  upland  one  is  also  abundant. 

The  sandy  or  muddy  mangrove  flats  along  the 
southwest  coast  of  Florida  swarm  with  two  species 
of  fiddler  crabs  of  the  genus  Uca.  Some  of  them 
are  prettily  variegated  with  whitish,  light  and 
dark  purple,  blue,  and  red.  The  males  have  one 
large  and  one  small  arm,  the  former  being  held 
across  the  body  and  threateningly  brandished 
whenever  they  are  disturbed.  The  motion  they 
make  in  so  doing  somewhat  resembles  the  playing 
of  a  fiddle  and  hence  the  common  name  of  "fiddler 
crab";  their  fighting  attitude  and  boxing  move- 
ments have  inspired  the  specific  names  of  "pug- 
nax"  and  "pugilator."  In  spite  of  all  their  ag- 
gressive show  they  are  capable  of  inflicting  but 
little  harm.  As  one  walks  along  it  seems  that  he 
must  crush  many  of  them  under  foot,  but  somehow 
by  scrambling  about  in  a  ludicrous  manner  they 
all  manage  to  get  out  from  under  it.  They  eat 
minute  algas  and  particles  of  animal  and  vegetable 
matter  whicr^  they  find  in  the  crevices  of  old 
stranded  boats,  timber,  and  decayed  logs.  This 


268  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

they  dig  out  with  one  of  the  claws  (the  male  uses 
the  small  one)  and  pass  to  the  mouth  with  rapid 
movement,  reminding  one  of  a  hungry  tramp, — a 
most  laughable  sight. 

On  the  south  and  southeastern  coasts  the  fiddlers 
are  largely  replaced  by  the  great  West  Indian 
land  crab  (Cardisoma  guanhumi)  which  makes  its 
burrows  in  the  muddy  flats,  and  sometimes  in 
summer  in  the  hammocks  and  pine  woods.  Here 
in  Florida  this  crab  is  active  during  the  rainy 
season,  and  after  showers  it  wanders  about  in 
great  numbers.  In  the  drier  part  of  the  year  it  is 
seldom  seen  though  it  continues  to  prowl  about 
more  or  less  at  night.  In  the  brackish  mud  flats, 
especially  near  the  higher  ground,  one  may  some- 
times see  in  a  square  yard  of  space  a  half-dozen  of 
their  burrows,  varying  in  size  from  half  an  inch 
to  the  thickness  of  a  man's  arm.  They  pile  the 
mud  from  below  around  the  mouths  of  their 
burrows  after  the  manner  of  the  fresh  water  cray- 
fishes. Without  doubt  this  mechanical  action  on 
the  soil  like  that  of  the  earth  worms  helps  aerate 
and  prepare  it  for  the  dry  land  vegetation  which  is 
to  come  later.  So  it  happens  that  these  crabs  so 
full  of  evil  and  so  generally  despised  may,  after  all, 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       269 

render  some  service  in  preparing  the  swamps  for 
the  occupation  of  men. 

Usually  about  the  first  of  September  they  leave 
their  burrows  in  immense  numbers  and  swarm 
over  the  dry  land.  They  take  possession  of  the 
yards  and  outhouses,  and  clamber  up  walls  where 
they  can  find  anything  to  cling  to.  It  is  some- 
times impossible  to  sleep  at  night  during  this 
swarming  season  on  account  of  the  everlasting 
rustling  and  clattering.  I  have  seen  them  cover 
the  ground  so  completely  during  these  migrations 
that  over  considerable  spaces  there  was  not  room 
to  step  between  them.  It  is  believed  they  come 
out  in  this  way  to  deposit  their  eggs  in  the  sea,  but 
I  am  more  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  solely  for 
mating  purposes  as  they  range  at  these  periods  to 
a  considerable  distance  inland.  Shortly  after  this 
hegira  they  return  to  their  burrows  where  they 
remain,  comparatively  inactive,  until  the  next 
rainy  season. 

Certain  species  of  small  fish  live  in  the  shallow 
water  of  the  mangrove  swamps  and  are  completely 
at  home  whether  it  is  salt,  brackish,  or  fresh. 
During  severe  northers  the  water  may  be  blown 
out  of  the  bays  until  extensive  mud  shoals  become 


270  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

bare.  At  such  times  these  fish  collect  in  the  little 
pools  left  and  in  case  the  water  recedes  until  they 
too  are  dry  they  burrow  down  into  the  mud,  re- 
maining there  until  the  return  of  the  tide  without 
apparently  suffering  the  least  harm.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  the  ooze  protects  them  from  the 
cold  and  equally  so  that  the  process  of  breathing 
is  partially  suspended  during  this  mud  bath.  I 
have  taken  them  from  the  mud  and  replaced  them 
in  water  when  they  immediately  became  as  active 
as  ever. 

Back  where  the  mud  becomes  firmer  and  near 
the  meeting  place  of  che  swamp  and  dry  land,  we 
find  two  species  of  coco  plums  (Chrysobalanus 
spp.),  our  two  Ficus  (F.  aurea  and  F.  brevifolia), 
Baccharis,  a  weedy  shrub  or  small  tree,  one  or 
two  of  the  Eugenias,  and  several  of  the  trees 
belonging  in  the  regular  hammock, — outliers  of 
the  upland  forest.  One  of  the  littoral  trees  of 
wide  range  is  the  button  wood  (Conocarpus  erec- 
tua),  a  tropical  tree  not  related  to  the  northern 
sycamore  of  the  same  popular  name.  On  the 
higher,  firm  ground  it  is  usually  a  tall  shrub,  but 
in  the  least  wet  parts  of  the  swamps  it  becomes  a 
large  tree  and  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  strang- 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       271 

est  vegetable  productions  of  the  earth.  It  has 
thick,  elliptic,  glossy  foliage  and  at  first  it  grows 
upright,  a  clean  stemmed  tree  with  rough  red- 
dish bark,  attaining  a  diameter  of  more  than  two 
feet  and  a  height  of  seventy.  But  it  has  a  weak 
root  development  also  probably  a  part  of  the 
scheme  of  its  peculiar  growth.  Sooner  or  later  it 
is  sure  to  be  blown  over  but  this  causes  it  neither 
injury  nor  inconvenience.  Its  wood  is  a  dark, 
greenish  brown,  with  a  grain  more  confusedly 
locked  than  even  that  of  the  sycamore.  Ye4"  it 
is  very  brittle  and  in  falling  the  trunk  is  much 
twisted  and  shattered.  It  immediately  thrusts 
forth  vigorous  new  growth  from  various  parts  of 
the  prostrate  trunk.  This  may  be  overturned 
again  in  a  few  years  by  another  storm  and  the 
process  repeated  until  one  can  hardly  tell  where 
the  tree  begins  or  ends.  In  many  cases  the 
growth  of  this  strange  vegetable  is  progressive 
and  it  seems  slowly  to  work  its  way  onward  over 
the  surface  of  the  muddy  soil  almost  like  some 
living  animal. 

The  trunk  becomes  in  time  very  irregular  and 
large,  being  composed  of  knotted,  twisted,  or 
apparently  braided  strands,  often  as  large  as  a 


272  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

man's  thigh  and  with  openings  between  in  which 
one  could  thrust  his  arm.  At  times  the  outer 
living  parts  spring  clear  from  the  often  decayed 
inner  heart  wood.  These  cavities  then  become 
partly  filled  with  mold  from  decaying  wood  and 
leaves,  and  in  them  grows  a  strange  cryptogamous 
plant  (Psilotum  triquetrum)  which  is  rather  closely 
related  to  the  club  mosses.  It  fastens  its  roots 
firmly  to  the  tree,  sometimes  penetrating  the 
bark  and  the  half  decaying  wood  and  sends  up  its 
slender,  branching,  rod-like  stems  which  bear 
scattered  scales  in  place  of  leaves,  and  small, 
berry-like,  yellow  fruits.  The  creeping  Poly- 
podium  (P.  polypodioides)  often  covers  the  great, 
shaggy  trunk,  and  Blechnum  serrulatum  as  well  as 
the  two  sword  ferns  already  referred  to  are  found 
with  it.  Occasionally  several  epiphytic  orchids 
and  a  Peperomia  make  their  home  on  the  bark 
and  altogether  the  buttonwoods  become  veritable 
aerial  gardens. 

As  a  result  of  being  repeatedly  overthrown  these 
great  trunks  are  sometimes  twisted  fully  twice 
around  and  the  brittle  wood  is  so  split  up  that 
some  of  it  is  detached  and  lies  scattered  on  the 
ground,  while  the  whole  becomes  so  contorted 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       273 

that  it  suggests  the  body  of  an  immense  serpent. 
If  any  living  part  of  the  trunk  comes  in  contact 
with  the  soil  it  throws  out  roots  and  forms  a  new 
attachment  with  the  ground  and  at  such  places 
fresh  shoots  come  up.  If  two  trees  grow  side  by 
side,  one  will  likely  crawl  over  the  other  and  they 
become  locked  in  a  death  struggle.  They  always 
suggest  colossal  serpents  or  saurians.  Occa- 
sionally some  living  part  becomes  detached  and 
forms  a  separate  tree;  or  a  limb  will  be  seen  which 
is  dead  at  the  ground  or  at  its  junction  with  the 
main  stem  but  alive  a  little  above;  it  will  even- 
tually fall  over  and  become  a  separate  plant.  I 
have  traced  a  crooked  trunk  for  sixty  feet  along 
the  mud  to  find  it  turn  and  grow  in  a  half  erect 
position  for  twenty-five  feet  more.  Towards  the 
base,  if  it  can  be  said  to  have  one,  parts  or  strands 
of  the  trunk  lie  dead  and  scattered  on  the  ground, 
while  others  which  are  alive  and  growing  will 
possibly,  in  time,  form  trees.  Finally  in  the 
"wake"  of  the  tree  there  will  be  a  wagonload  of 
dead  and  decaying  fragments,  some  pieces  being 
free,  while  others  are  attached  to  the  ground  by 
old  roots.  The  entire  plant  seems  to  obey  no  law 
in  its  strange  grotesque  growth.  There  are  a  num- 


274  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

her  of  plants  which  grow  at  one  end  and  die  at  the 
other;  the  common  sphagnum  moss  (Sphagnum 
sp.)  and  the  saw  palmetto  are  well  known  exam- 
ples. But  I  know  of  nothing  which  carries  on  such 
a  system  of  growth  and  upon  so  extensive  a  scale 
as  does  the  buttonwood;  nothing  so  out  of  joint 
with  itself,  so  whimsical  and  apparently  without 
purpose.  It  is  possible  that  this  split  up,  braided 
growth  may  aid  in  aerating  the  tree.  I  cannot 
understand  why  it  should  be  necessary  for  the 
tree  to  fall  and  live  its  life  out  in  a  reclining  posi- 
tion unless  it  is  that  it  permits  it  to  live  on  and  on 
indefinitely.  No  one  knows  how  old  some  of  these 
patriarchs  are,  but  with  no  greatly  disturbing  in- 
fluence I  see  no  reason  why  they  may  not  live 
many  hundreds  of  years.  If  they  are  not  immortal 
they  come  nearer  to  being  so  than  any  vegetable 
growth  with  which  I  am  acquainted. 

The  work  of  building  the  littoral  may  be  likened 
to  the  construction  of  a  great  edifice.  The  true 
mangroves  break  the  ground,  they  lay  the  foun- 
dation at  extreme  low  tide  and  construct  the  base- 
ment; the  white  and  black  mangroves  carry  up 
the  lower  part  of  the  structure;  the  pond  apples, 
buttonwoods,  Ilex,  and  bayberries  build  the  upper 


ALONG  THE  MANGROVE  SHORE       275 

part  of  it,  and  the  Ficus,  coco  plums,  and  Eugenias 
put  on  the  finishing  touches  which  complete  the 
building.  The  work  goes  on  through  the  centuries 
and  the  mud  flat  that  is  submerged  at  every  tide 
is  slowly  converted  into  high,  dry  land  on  which 
will  be  built  the  homes  of  men. 


CHAPTER  XHI 
THe  Open  Sea  BeacK 

THE  seashore  is  an  interesting  place  even 
to  those  who  have  no  scientific  attain- 
ments nor  taste  for  natural  history. 
The  abrupt  change  from  the  land  to  the 
illimitable  stretch  of  sea  is  startling  and  stimu- 
lating. Along  the  shore  line  the  restless  ?urf,  the 
rising  and  falling  of  the  tide,  the  odd  and  strange 
forms  of  marine  life,  fragments  of  wrecks,  and 
material  drifted  from  foreign  shores, — all  have  a 
suggestion  of  mystery  and  therefore  fascination. 
Burroughs  has  said  of  one  on  the  sea  beach: 
"He  stands  at  the  open  door  of  the  continent  and 
eagerly  drinks  in  the  large  air."  To  the  naturalist 
who  knows  something  of  its  life;  who  can,  by 
study  of  its  living  fauna,  read  the  history  of  the 
land,  the  seashore  is  the  most  fascinating  place  in 
the  world. 

Along  the  west  coast  from  Cape  Romano  to 
276 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  277 

Cape  Sable  there  are  beaches  composed  of  silicious 
sand  and  the  same  formation  is  met  with  on  the 
southeastern  shore  from  Fort  Lauderdale  (the 
northern  limit  included  in  this  volume)  to  Cape 
Florida.  South  of  the  two  last  mentioned  capes 
the  beaches  are  either  rocky,  broken  coral,  coral 
sand,  or  marl.  The  shores  of  southwest  Florida 
are  wonderfully  rich  in  marine  life,  especially  in 
mollusks.  A  little  distance  north  of  Cape  Romano 
at  Sanibel  Island  there  is  the  most  amazing  de- 
velopment of  marine  shells  I  have  ever  seen. 

When  the  wind  blows  strongly  toward  the  land 
and  the  sea  bottom  is  agitated  for  some  distance 
out,  shells,  often  containing  the  animal,  crus- 
taceans, fish,  sponges,  and  a  great  variety  of  life 
are  cast  up  on  the  shore.  One  of  the  strangest 
of  these  creatures  is  the  horseshoe  crab  (Limulus 
polyphemus),  a  large  crustacean  that  is  seen  from 
May  to  midsummer,  at  which  time  it  comes  up  on 
the  sand  to  lay  its  eggs  near  high  water  mark. 
The  outline  of  the  body  is  nearly  round,  being 
slightly  drawn  out  behind :  it  has  a  long,  spike-like 
tail,  and  the  general  color  is  brownish  or  chocolate. 
There  is  only  one  other  species  of  the  genus  known 
and  it  inhabits  the  Malay  Archipelago.  Limulus 


278  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

reaches  back  to  Permian  time,  and  allied  forms  are 
found  in  the  Silurian  rocks.  The  shield  really 
consists  of  six  segments  which  are  soldered  to- 
gether but  are  separate  in  the  embryonic  stage. 
It  has  six  pairs  of  appendages,  the  two  forward 
ones  acting  as  antennae,  the  bases  of  the  others 
which  surround  the  mouth  being  serrate.  These 
serrations  act  as  teeth  or  jaws  and  are  used  in 
seizing  and  masticating  the  food.  And  these  same 
appendages  also  fulfill  the  part  of  legs  and  carry  the 
animal  about!  There  is  a  pair  of  large  compound 
eyes  near  the  center  of  the  shield  and  a  smaller 
pair  forward.  I  have  called  this  strange  animal 
a  crustacean  but  it  has  recently  been  classed  with 
the  spiders  and  is  believed  by  some  naturalists  to 
be  related  to  the  scorpions.  It  bears  some  resem- 
blance to  the  Trilobites  of  the  ancient  Paleozoic 
seas,  and  in  the  larval  state  especially  suggests 
these  long  extinct  forms. 

Everywhere  along  the  sandy  shores  of  the  south- 
west coast  the  ghost  crab  (Ocypoda  albicans)  is 
abundant,  varying  in  color  from  yellowish  white 
to  pepper-and-salt  and  harmonizing  perfectly 
with  the  sand  on  which  it  lives.  When  pursued 
it  scampers  along  with  astonishing  rapidity,  often 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  279 

suddenly  squatting  down,  and  disappearing;  so 
closely  does  it  mimic  the  color  of  its  environment 
that  it  generally  eludes  its  enemies.  Without 
doubt  its  common  name  was  suggested  by  its 
ghost-like  appearance.  There  are  sand  fleas 
(Orchestia)  which  burrow  in  the  sand,  and  are  as 
lively  as  the  insect  from  which  they  are  named, 
and  the  shore  is  sometimes  almost  covered  with 
hermit  crabs  (Paguridae)  of  a  number  of  species. 
They  live  mostly  in  dead,  empty  shells,  the  tail 
being  soft  and  provided  with  a  pair  of  hooks  at  its 
end  for  holding  to  the  home  chosen.  When,  by  rea- 
son of  increasing  growth,  this  crab  finds  its  tene- 
ment too  small  it  hunts  for  a  larger  one,  and  is 
quite  indifferent  as  to  what  kind ;  it  may  sometimes 
go  into  a  sponge  or  even  the  tube  of  a  plant  stem. 
Once  on  the  southwest  coast  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  witness  a  change  of  habitation.  A  good 
sized  hermit  in  a  shell  of  Fulgur  pyrum  was  moving 
about  among  a  number  of  dead  shells,  apparently 
with  the  feeling  of  a  man  looking  at  houses  to  let. 
At  last  it  found  a  shell  of  Polinices  duplicate, 
which  was  larger  than  its  dwelling  but  very  dif- 
ferently shaped.  It  moved  around  it  several 
times,  peered  into  it,  probably  to  see  if  it  was  in 


280          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

good  condition  for  occupancy,  then  it  came  close 
alongside,  whipped  its  body  quickly  out  of  the 
old  residence  and  into  the  new,  after  which  it 
scuttled  rapidly  away. 

On  floating  and  stranded  timber  there  are 
thousands  of  Lepas,  a  curious  animal  with  flat- 
tened, bluish  white,  shelly  plates  which  belongs 
with  the  barnacles.  It  is  attached  by  a  scale 
covered,  fleshy  stalk,  and  within  the  plates  are 
the  vital  parts. 

One  of  the  commonest  marine  animals  among 
the  Florida  Keys  and  the  southeast  coast  is  the 
Portuguese  man-of-war  (Phy solid  arethusa).  It 
is  really  a  sort  of  community  of  organisms  united 
in  one  body.  There  is  an  elongated,  doubly 
pointed,  inflated  sac,  which  keeps  the  whole  afloat, 
and  this  is  surmounted  by  a  crest  that  acts  as  a 
sail.  The  float  is  filled  with  air  and  rests  on  the 
surface  of  the  sea,  while  from  it  depends  a  mass 
of  tentacles  and  various  organs.  These  are  at- 
tached a  little  to  one  side  of  the  base  of  the 
sac  near  its  broader  end.  According  to  Mrs. 
Arnold  in  her  excellent  book,  The  Sea  Beach 
at  Ebb  Tide,  these  streamers  sometimes  attain  a 
length  of  forty  or  fifty  feet  when  the  creature  is 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  281 

sailing  along,  and  they  act  to  some  extent  as 
anchors  to  keep  the  Physalia  from  being  driven 
ashore.  It  can  raise  the  narrow  end. of  the  float 
or  sail  and  make  it  "come  about"  in  the  wind. 
Notwithstanding  these  safety  devices  millions 
of  them  are  washed  ashore  and  at  once  die.  It  is 
a  favorite  amusement  along  our  shores  to  step  on 
these  air  bladders  to  make  them  pop  with  a  loud 
noise.  Some  of  the  tentacles  are  covered  with 
stinging  or  lasso  cells  which  inflict  severe  pain  on 
any  swimmer  who  ventures  among  them  and 
they  doubtless,  by  this  means,  paralyze  their  prey. 
There  are  also  locomotive  and  reproductive 
tentacles  and  still  others  which  appear  to  have 
nutritive  functions.  They  are  among  our  strangest 
forms  of  life  and  are  glorious  objects  when  seen 
floating  on  the  sea,  the  whole  being  a  rich  violet 
or  blue  with  iridescent  shades.  With  the  Physa- 
lias  are  associated  the  Vellela  ( V.  limbosa)  which 
is  also  richly  colored  with  shades  of  violet.  It  is 
also  a  compound  animal  with  an  oblong  float  and 
diagonal  sail. 

The  commonest  bivalve  mollusk  of  the  south- 
west coast  is  Spisula  similis  with  a  triangular, 
whitish  shell  that  attains  the  length  of  three 


282  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

inches.  It  is  believed  to  be  a  dwarf  variety  of 
Spisula  solidissima,  which  the  collector  will  find 
in  just  as  great  abundance  from  Cape  Hatteras 
northward.  It  is  probable  that  on  account  of 
climate  our  southern  form  is  less  robust  and 
brighter  colored  than  its  northern  relative.  On 
the  other  hand  Venus  mercenaria,  the  common 
hard-shell  edible  clam  of  the  New  Jersey  and  Long 
Island  coasts,  reaches  a  length  of  three  inches, 
while  in  the  bays  along  our  southwest  coast  it 
becomes  more  than  twice  that  size  and  attains  the 
preposterous  weight  of  five  pounds.  It  is  some- 
times considered  a  mere  variety  of  mercenaria  and 
again  is  ranked  as  a  species.  In  these  two  cases 
climate  seems  to  work  both  ways.  No  doubt 
conditions  in  the  north  are  more  favorable  for 
the  Spisula  than  along  the  Florida  coast,  while 
the  subtropical  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
exactly  suit  the  large  clam  which  grows  only  in  a 
stunted  form  in  the  cold  northern  ocean.  Macro- 
callista  gigantea  and  M.  maculata  have  large, 
beautifully  maculated,  polished  shells;  Cardium 
magnum,  C.  isocardia,  and  C.  Iczvigatum  are  abun- 
dant, handsome  forms,  the  former  as  large  as  a 
man's  fist.  There  are  elegant  circular  Dosinias 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  283 

and  a  host  of  Tellinas  and  Macomas,  with  many 
species  of  Lucina  and  Pecten.  One  of  the  latter 
has  the  upper  valve  dark  and  the  lower  white,  the 
one  being  colored  by  the  sunlight  while  the  other 
which  lies  in  the  sand  or  mud  is  not  darkened. 
The  same  is  true  of  many  bivalves  with  a  habit  of 
lying  flat  on  the  bottom.  When  one  attempts  to 
catch  this  Pecten  it  rapidly  opens  and  closes  its 
valves,  ejecting  muddy  water  and  darting  away 
on  the  reaction. 

Donax  variabilis  is  another  mollusk  which  de- 
pends on  a  trick  to  prevent  its  capture  by  enemies. 
In  spring  these  lovely  little  clams  are  washed  up 
on  the  sand  by  millions  and  for  a  moment  they  lie 
gleaming  with  a  wonderful  array  of  color — little 
gems  of  the  sea.  The  shell  is  about  an  inch  in 
length  and  beautifully  polished,  white,  purple, 
rose,  or  yellow,  often  delicately  rayed.  Only  for  a 
moment  do  they  remain  on  the  sand,  for  in  a  flash 
they  turn  and  dig  themselves  out  of  sight.  Who- 
ever catches  them  must  not  stop  to  admire  their 
beauty,  for  if  he  does  not  one  will  be  left. 

Fulgur  perversus,  a  giant  gastropod  mollusk, 
sometimes  has  a  shell  fifteen  inches  long  and  very 
solid.  Most  shells  of  this  class  are  dextral,  that 


284          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

is  if  held  with  the  spire  end  up  the  mouth  or  aper- 
ture will  be  on  the  right  side  of  its  axis.  But 
this  one  almost  invariably  turns  to  the  left, — it  is 
perverse.  Its  curious  egg  cases  are  often  washed 
up  having  many  capsules  filled  with  eggs  or  young 
and  these  infant  shells  all  turn  to  the  left.  Then 
there  are  Pyrulas  and  Melongenas,  and  Polinices 
with  very  curious  egg  cases,  and  Crepidulas, 
shaped  like  a  boat  with  a  seat  near  the  middle; 
there  are  lovely  Conus,  three  species  of  superb 
Fasciolarias,  and  several  small  Olivellas  whose 
polished  shells  gleam  like  gems. 

I  once  had  lived  on  the  southwest  coast  for  two 
years  and  though  every  time  I  collected  on  the 
open  beach  I  found  shells  of  the  beautiful  Oliva 
litterata  they  were  always  dead  specimens.  I  had 
searched  for  them  in  all  kinds  of  situations  and  I 
could  not  imagine  where  they  concealed  them- 
selves. One  day  when  I  was  on  my  knees  gather- 
ing minute  shells  I  saw  something  move  in  the 
sand.  I  reached  out  and  from  the  end  of  a  furrow 
pulled  out  a  mass  of  soft  white  flesh  nearly  as 
large  as  my  palm.  It  squirmed  and  contracted 
until  finally  I  held  in  my  hand  a  glorious  shell  of 
the  Oliva  which  I  had  so  long  sought,  and  into 


Curious  Egg  Case  of  Fulgur  perversus,  a  Large  Marine  Gastropod 

Photo  by   Dr.  R.  W.  Shufeldt 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  285 

which  the  entire  animal  formerly  expanded  had 
withdrawn.  Its  nacreous  surface  shone  as  though 
it  had  been  varnished,  bringing  out  in  detail  its 
wonderful  color  markings  of  blue-gray  and  brown- 
ish zigzag  flames  on  a  yellow  ground.  I  shall 
never  forget  my  thrill  of  delight.  Then  when  I 
looked  around  I  found  numberless  furrows  in  the 
sand  and  at  the  end  of  each  was  a  living  Oliva. 
They  burrow  to  a  depth  of  a  few  inches  and  come 
up  to  crawl  about  for  food  just  at  the  surface.  I 
had  thought  that  so  brilliant  a  shell  would  attract 
enemies,  but  whenever  the  animal  comes  to  the  top 
of  the  sand  the  shell  is  covered  entirely  with  its 
foot  -which  is  always  the  same  color  as  the  material 
in  which  it  lives!  If  the  sand  is  white  the  foot  is 
white,  if  it  is  gray  or  yellow  or  even  black  the  foot 
corresponds  in  color ! 

In  little  bays  or  around  temporary  pools  which 
have  been  left  by  the  tide  one  often  finds  ricks  of 
small,  interesting  shells  and  sometimes  minute 
species  are  mixed  with  dirt  and  trash  so  that  all 
must  be  carefully  looked  over,  perhaps  with  a 
hand  glass,  in  order  to  discover  all  the  treasures. 
Again  large  shells  sometimes  lie  in  veritable  fur- 
rows on  this  coast  so  abundantly  indeed  that  a 


286  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

train  of  flat  cars  might  be  loaded  with  acceptable 
specimens  from  one  spot.  Once  with  a  friend  I 
visited  one  of  these  beaches  which  to  reach  re- 
quired quite  a  walk.  We  found  the  shore  cov- 
ered with  fine  shells  and  in  a  short  time  we  had  our 
sacks  and  baskets  full,  when  I  suggested  a  return 
to  our  boat.  He  looked  wistfully  at  the  heaps  of 
beautiful  specimens  lying  at  our  feet  to  be  aban- 
doned and  then  pulled  off  a  knitted,  seamless 
sweater  and  said:  "It's  a  cold  day  when  I  leave 
such  a  lot  of  shells  as  these."  We  tied  the  neck 
and  ends  of  the  sleeves,  and  began  to  fill  it.  I 
never  saw  anything  stretch  like  that  sweater;  the 
sleeves  became  as  large  as  the  original  body.  It 
stretched  lengthwise  and  sidewise  and  when  com- 
pletely full  we  added  my  coat  to  the  lower  end 
and  tied  it  on.  The  thing  looked  like  the  skin  of 
some  great  animal  stuffed  with  sawdust  such  as 
we  used  to  see  mounted  in  the  old  natural  history 
museums. 

If  one  goes  about  thirty  miles  south  and  west 
of  Cape  Sable  to  the  Content  Keys  (among  the 
nearest  islands  of  the  lower  chain)  he  will  find  the 
marine  fauna  almost  as  much  changed  as  though 
he  had  crossed  to  the  Pacific.  The  Keys  are  a 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  287 

region  of  corals  and  Gorgonias  and  but  few  things 
are  to  be  seen  among  them  which  belong  on  the 
sandy  beaches  of  the  southwest  coast.  The  Lu- 
idias  or  brittle  stars  of  the  west  coast  are  replaced 
by  the  great  Pentaceros ;  the  sand  dollars  (Mellita) 
by  a  Metalia  which  looks  like  a  corn  pone.  In- 
stead of  the  harmless  purple  sea  urchin  of  the 
western  shores  one  cannot  put  his  hand  under  a 
rock  without  danger  of  meeting  the  dreadful  spines 
of  the  Diadema  setosum.  This  urchin  has  a 
relatively  small  body  which  seems  constructed  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  supporting  the  most  villainous 
armament  of  long,  brittle  spines  which  by  merest 
contact  drive  deep  into  one's  flesh  and  invariably 
break  off,  causing  most  intense  pain. 

The  various  yellow  or  purple  sea  fans  which  are 
found  in  great  numbers  in  key  waters  are  won- 
derfully graceful  and  remind  one  of  living  plants. 
Upon  them  are  found  certain  mollusks  of  the 
family  Ovulidae  the  shells  of  which  always  have 
the  color  of  their  host.  On  the  shores  one  com- 
monly finds  several  mollusks  belonging  to  the 
Littorinidae,  three  or  four  Neritas,  two  or  three 
of  the  Chitons,  as  many  Purpuras  and  Siphonarias, 
all  of  which  adhere  closely  to  the  rocks,  and 


288  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

though  some  of  them  are  brightly  colored  they 
are  generally  so  concealed  by  confervae  that  it  is 
difficult  to  see  them.  Under  projecting  rocks  or 
among  mangrove  roots  are  two  Cypraeas  or  "mic- 
ramocks"  as  they  are  locally  called.  These  are 
queens  among  the  mollusks  on  account  of  their 
size  and  the  exquisite  beauty  of  their  shells.  They 
are  hard  to  find  because  the  fleshy  mantle  of  the 
animal  covers  the  shell  when  the  creature  is  active. 
There  is  a  number  of  species  of  lovely  Tellinas 
which  are  always  beautifully  polished,  Codakias 
with  orbicular  shells,  a  couple  of  fine  Cardiums 
and  a  red  Pinna,  among  bivalves,  and  the  great 
pink  conchs,  a  handsome  Murex,  two  or  three 
helmet  shells  and  as  many  Fasciolarias  among  the 
gasteropods.  The  fauna  of  the  southeast  coast 
is  much  like  that  of  the  keys  but  lacks  some  of  the 
rock-loving  species. 

The  curious  Janthinas  or  violet  snails  are  abun- 
dant in  both  of  these  areas  and  they  are  some- 
times washed  ashore  in  immense  numbers.  The 
animal  exudes  a  glutinous  secretion  from  a  gland 
in  the  foot  which  hardens  and  forms  a  float  filled 
with  air  bubbles,  and  in  this  the  female  lays  her 
eggs.  As  these  floats  are  attached  to  the  Jan- 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  289 

thinas  they  cannot  sink  and  they  live  in  com- 
munities a  sort  of  pelagic  life  in  the  open  sea. 
The  shells  are  thin  and  together  with  the  entire 
animal  are  a  lovely  violet  color.  At  least  four 
species  inhabit  our  waters  though  Janthina  com- 
munis  is  much  the  most  common. 

I  once  made  a  cruise  in  the  schooner  A  sa  Eldridge 
from  Bradentown,  Florida,  to  Honduras  and  on  a 
Sunday  morning  while  lying  at  Key  West  I  strolled 
over  to  the  north  shore  of  the  island.  As  I  ap- 
proached I  saw  from  a  short  distance  that  it  was 
everywhere  a  mass  of  glowing  violet  color  and 
then  I  found  it  to  be  covered  from  below  tide  to 
well  out  on  the  land  with  fresh  Janthinas.  All 
the  depressions  and  pot  holes  in  the  rocky  shore 
were  filled, — in  places  several  feet  deep.  A  vast 
community  or  gathering  of  them  probably  ex- 
tending for  miles  had  stranded  the  night  be- 
fore on  the  beach.  It  was  the  most  astounding 
sight  in  the  way  of  molluscan  life  I  had  ever 
seen  and  when  I  recovered  from  my  surprise  I 
proceeded  to  collect  specimens.  Lacking  any 
receptacle  in  which  to  put  them  I  used  my 
handkerchief,  then  my  new  straw  hat,  then  one 
pocket  after  another  of  my  fresh  white  linen 


290          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

suit,  and  when  fully  loaded  I  started  for  the 
schooner. 

The  day  was  hot,  and  soon  the  snails  seemed 
to  be  melting.  To  my  horror  violet  blotches 
appeared  on  my  coat  and  trousers,  spreading 
rapidly  until  the  purple  juice  from  the  animals 
actually  ran  down  and  filled  my  shoes !  I  reached 
the  city  as  the  church  bells  were  ringing  and  I  tried 
to  evade  people  by  taking  alleys  and  back  streets 
but  everywhere  I  met  groups  of  churchgoers  who 
stared  at  me  in  astonishment.  They  no  doubt 
took  me  for  an  escaped  lunatic.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  Key  West  had  a  population  of  a  hundred 
thousand  and  all  churchgoers.  Having  run  that 
gantlet  and  reached  the  vessel  our  crew  greeted 
me  with  shouts  and  laughter.  My  smart  suit  was 
ruined,  nor  could  I  even  wear  it  around  the 
vessel  without  being  derided, — but  I  had  the 
satisfaction  of  cleaning  up  over  two  thousand  fine 
Janthina  shells. 

The  dissimilarity  between  the  life  of  the  west 
coast  and  that  of  the  key  region  is  due  in 
part  to  the  different  character  of  the  sea  bottom, 
the  one  being  wholly  of  silicious  sand  and  the 
other  of  coral  sand  and  rock.  A  more  important 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  291 

cause  lies  in  the  difference  of  sea  temperature  in 
the  two  regions.  On  the  west  coast  there  is  a 
very  gradual  slope  of  the  sea  bottom  for  a  long 
distance  from  the  land  and  the  shallow  water  is 
winter  cooled  until  its  temperature  is  lowered  sev- 
eral degrees  below  that  of  the  keys  and  the  south- 
eastern coast  where  the  shores  are  bathed  by  the 
tepid  waters  of  the  Gulf  Stream.  This  powerful 
current,  of  mighty  volume  and  majestic  flow,  is 
unmodified  by  Florida  winters.  Even  the  shoals 
and  shore  water  cools  but  little,  hence  the  marine 
life  is  strictly  tropical. 

A  considerable  number  of  marine  mollusks  which 
inhabit  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the  southeastern 
States  are  also  found  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  but 
they  do  not  extend  their  range  to  the  extreme 
lower  part  of  Florida.  The  water  of  the  sea,  as  I 
have  shown,  is  considerably  warmer  along  the 
Gulf  Stream  than  it  is  farther  northward  and  as 
these  are  temperate  and  warm  temperate  forms 
they  do  not  find  this  almost  tepid  water  congenial. 
For  a  long  time  I  could  not  understand  this 
peculiar  distribution,  nor  how  these  Atlantic  coast 
mollusks  could  have  found  their  way  into  the 
Gulf.  Geologists  assert  that  during  late  Tertiary 


292  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

a  sea  passage  existed  across  the  State  from  lower 
St.  John's  River  to  Tampa  Bay.  If  true  we  have 
an  answer  but  the  present  contour  of  the  land  does 
not  very  well  support  the  channel  theory. 

We  do  know  positively  that  during  early  or 
middle  Pleistocene  time  a  considerable  subsidence 
of  the  State  of  Florida  took  place.  Dr.  E.  H. 
Sellards,  formerly  our  State  Geologist,  has  kindly 
outlined  for  me  a  map  showing  the  shore  line  of 
the  peninsula  after  the  subsidence.  It  lay  a  short 
distance  east  of  Bradentown,  passing  south  into 
De  Soto  County,  thence  east  (just  north  of  the 
Caloosahatchee  River)  and  northward  in  about 
the  center  of  the  present  State.  In  a  general  way 
the  territory  east  of  the  St.  John's  was  submerged 
though  there  were  a  couple  of  long  islands  in  that 
region.  The  ocean  reached  north  along  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  State  almost  to  the  27th  parallel, 
and  as  the  climate  was  cooler  than  at  present  the 
opportunity  was  furnished  for  migration  of  Atlan- 
tic forms  into  the  Gulf. 

Everywhere  along  the  banks  of  the  Disston  and 
other  drainage  canals  in  the  Everglades  the  soft 
excavated  Pleistocene  rock  is  filled  with  the  same 
marine  shells  now  living  on  the  west  coast.  One 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  293 

might  suppose  he  was  gathering  shells  on  the  beach 
at  Charlotte  Harbor  or  at  Tampa  Bay  but  for 
the  fact  that  the  Disston  material  is  semi-fossil. 
Heilprin  dredged  these  same  fossil  marine  shells 
in  Lake  Okeechobee.  Among  the  shells  Venus 
cancellata  outnumbers  all  others  and  the  beds 
have  been  named  after  it.  Venus  mortoni,  as 
ponderous  as  it  is  to-day  is  common,  and  all  the 
west  coast  Fasciolarias,  Murices,  Fulgurs,  Car- 
diums,  Lucinas,  Macomas,  Tellinas  are  found 
everywhere  in  these  Pleistocene  beds.  In  short 
they  contain  a  complete  duplication  of  the  present 
marine  life  of  the  west  coast;  here  the  shells  lie 
scattered  across  the  State  just  as  if  they  had  fallen 
out  of  the  ranks  and  died  during  their  migration 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Gulf.  Since  then  the 
State  has  been  elevated  and  extended  nearly  two 
and  a  half  degrees  to  the  southward,  or  to  within 
a  degree  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer.  On  its  southern 
extension  it  has  been  crowded  against  the  Gulf 
Stream,  and  the  warm  temperate  forms  can  not 
exist  in  this  tepid  sea.  / 

Going  east  through  the  canal  from  Okeechobee 
to  Palm  Beach  one  finds  while  nearing  the  sea  a 
number  of  tropical  marine  shells  (fossil)  in  the 


294  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Pleistocene  deposits  of  this  once  very  shallow  sea. 
Such  forms  as  Codakia  tigerina,  Oliva  reticularis, 
Marginella  carnea,  and  others  are  met.  They 
inhabited  the  near-by  Gulf  Stream  waters  coming 
from  the  south  and  were  carried  for  a  short  dis- 
tance to  the  westward  to  meet  the  Atlantic  species 
on  common  ground. 

There  are  numbers  of  marine  mollusks  of  the 
Lower  Florida  and  West  Indian  region  so  closely 
resembling  species  of  the  Panamic  area  of  the 
Pacific  that  only  an  expert  can  distinguish  one 
from  the  other.  Strombus  pugilis,  common  along 
our  shores,  is  very  close  to  S.  gracilior  of  the  west 
coast  of  Mexico ;  our  giant  Fasciolaria  is  much  like 
the  smaller  F.  princeps  of  the  Panamic  region; 
Vasum  muricatum  of  the  Lower  Keys  is  almost 
exactly  like  V.  cestus  from  western  Central  Am- 
erica. Purpura  patula,  P.  floridana,  Melongena 
melongena,  Cardium  isocardia,  Cytherea  dione, 
Venus  listen,  and  V.  cancellata  of  the  Atlantic  side 
are  replaced  by  strikingly  analogous  species  on  the 
tropical  Pacific  coast,  and  the  list  might  be  greatly 
extended.  According  to  Zetek,  who  has  recently 
catalogued  the  Panamic  mollusks,  fifteen  per  cent, 
are  common  to  both  coasts  and  it  is  probable  that 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  295 

1500  species  may  be  found  in  the  entire  region. 
Among  the  absolutely  identical  forms  of  both 
coasts  is  our  common  Atlantic  oyster  (Ostrea 
virginicd)  which  has  also  been  reported  from  the 
Gulf  of  California.  No  less  than  nine  species  of 
crabs  are  common  to  the  tropical  shores  of  both, 
and  a  large  number  of  Crustaceans  on  one  side 
of  the  continent  are  exceeding  close  specifically  to 
an  equal  number  on  the  other  side.  More  than 
seventy-five  species  of  fishes  are  common  to  the 
two  coasts  and  doubtless  the  same  approxima- 
tions are  true  in  other  classes  of  ocean  life. 

The  question  will  naturally  be  asked,  "How  did 
these  marine  animals  get  across  a  continent? 
Why  should  so  many  animals  in  one  ocean  closely 
imitate  animals  in  another?"  Obviously  they 
could  never  have  passed  from  one  sea  to  the  other 
around  the  north  part  of  North  America  or  by  way 
of  the  Antarctic  Ocean.  Neither  is  it  possible 
that  birds  or  any  other  natural  agency  could  have 
carried  them  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama. 
During  Miocene  time  there  was  a  depression  of 
Central  America  to  the  extent  of  opening  a  sea 
passage  in  the  Panamic  region.  A  mingling, 
though  not  very  general  and  complete,  of  the  life 


296  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

of  the  two  oceans  resulted  after  which  reelevation 
of  the  area  closed  the  strait.  After  separation 
conditions  differed  a  little  on  each  side;  the  water 
of  the  western  ocean  was  cooler  than  that  of  the 
eastern  and  food  conditions  may  have  slightly 
differed.  Species  most  susceptible  to  environ- 
ment began  to  change,  and  so  we  have  the  cases 
of  two  forms  so  similar  but  not  quite  identical  in 
the  two  seas.  The  animals  least  susceptible  to 
environmental  change  modified  but  little  or  not 
at  all,  and  hence  the  cases  of  specific  identity  on 
the  two  sides  of  the  isthmus. 

The  flora  of  the  seashore  is  extremely  inter- 
esting. Along  sandy  beaches  and  dunes,  espe- 
cially on  the  west  coast,  a  tall,  handsome  grass 
(Uniola  paniculate)  grows  in  great  abundance.  It 
has  ample,  nodding  panicles  of  oval  flower  heads 
which  look  as  if  they  were  braided  and  keep 
long  as  everlastings.  Scceuola  plumieri  is  an  at- 
tractive low  plant  with  thick,  glossy  leaves  and 
pretty  white  flowers  that  are  cleft  to  the  base  on 
one  side.  In  sheltered  spots  a  sunflower  (Heli- 
anthus  debilis)  carpets  the  sand  and  displays  its 
brilliant  yellow  flowers  during  most  of  the  year. 
In  moist  places  a  succulent  plant  somewhat 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  297 

resembling  our  garden  portulaca  (Sesuvium  por- 
tulacastrum)  covers  the  ground.  This  also  lives 
along  the  seashores  throughout  the  West  Indies, 
and,  according  to  Coulter,  it  grows  inland  through 
Texas  to  California,  presumably  m  saline  locali- 
ties. Everywhere  along  our  sandy  shores  the 
goatsfoot  vine  (IpomcEa  pes-caprcB)  with  its  trailing 
stems,  round  notched  leaves,  and  great  purple 
flowers  binds  the  loose  sand  together  with  its 
roots.  A  tall  shrub  (Suriana  maritima)  has  yel- 
low blossoms  remarkable  because  all  their  parts 
are  in  fives, — five  sepals,  five,  clawed  petals,  ten 
stamens,  and  five  pistils.  In  many  places  a  cousin 
of  the  cultivated  heliotrope  (Tournfortia  gnapha- 
loides)  grows  in  immense  clumps  bearing  small 
white  flowers  in  scorpoid  racemes,  which  in  Eng- 
lish means  they  are  borne  on  one  side  of  stems 
which  are  rolled  up  like  scorpion  tails.  On  dry 
sand  banks  the  Spanish  bayonet  (Yucca  aloifolia) 
grows  to  almost  tree-like  dimensions.  Its  stiff, 
strong  leaves  are  armed  with  terrible  spines  so  it 
is  better  to  admire  at  a  distance  its  splendid  head 
of  tulip-shaped,  white  flowers. 

Along  with  the  Yucca  the  shore  grape  (Coccolobis 
uviferd)  forms  small  forests.     Often  its  branches 


298          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

facing  the  sea  are  scorched  by  the  strong,  salt- 
laden  wind  and  its  head  leans  far  to  leeward.  The 
large,  stiff  leaves  are  nearly  round  and  almost  as 
thick  as  cowhide  leather.  They  are  of  a  pleasing 
shade  of  green  with  red  veins;  in  late  winter  they 
turn  to  unnamed  tints  of  yellow,  red,  or  purple, — 
autumn  leaves  without  frost.  The  purple  fruit 
grows  in  long  racemes  and  is  edible, — for  those  who 
like  it.  Of  this  tree  Charles  Kingsley  has  said, 
"This  shore  grape,  which  the  West  Indians  esteem 
as  we  might  a  bramble,  we  found  to  be,  without 
exception,  the  most  beautiful  broad-leafed  plant 
we  had  ever  seen."  It  is  certainly  a  most  striking 
tree  and  no  one  not  an  expert  botanist  would  ever 
suspect  that  it  belonged  to  the  buckwheat  family. 
On  level  spots  and  in  slight  depressions  at  the 
line  of  extreme  high  tide  a  vast  amount  of  trash 
often  accumulates,  and  it  is  always  interesting  to 
dig  this  over  for  the  many  curious  things  it  con- 
tains. In  it  may  be  found  seeds  of  three  species 
of  Mucuna  or  sea  bean  which  are  often  polished 
and  worn  for  ornament.  Rarely  one  finds  a  lovely 
carmine  bean  with  a  black  border  (Canavalia 
rusiosperma).  An  almost  globular  seed  a  full  inch 
across  is  the  fruit  of  a  magnificent  palm  of  South 


THE  OPEN  SEA  BEACH  299 

America  (Manicaria) ;  when  cut  open  the  kernel 
is  often  as  fresh  as  when  it  fell  from  the  tree,  but 
I  have  never  been  able  to  get  one  to  grow.  This 
palm  has  enormous  entire  leaves  which  may  be 
four  or  five  feet  wide  and  thirty  feet  long;  they 
are  used  to  thatch  roofs  of  dwellings.  Then  there 
is  the  common  gray  nicker  bean  (Guilandina) 
and  more  rarely  the  similar  yellow  one.  The 
great  brown  seed  of  the  Entada  is  usually  very 
common.  A  variety  of  interesting  seeds  will  be 
found  in  this  drift  and  also  the  lovely  shells  of  the 
violet  snails  associated  with  the  curious,  chambered 
Spirula.  The  pretty,  loosely  coiled,  shell  of  the 
latter  is  in  life  concealed  within  the  body  of  the 
animal  that  develops  it  and  which  floats  on  or  just 
beneath  the  surface  of  the  sea.  Though  millions 
of  shells  are  washed  up  on  tropical  beaches  all  over 
the  world  only  a  few  fragmentary  bits  of  the 
animals  are  ever  found.  On  the  southeast  coast 
myriads  of  sponges  are  washed  up.  Among  the 
commoner  ones  are  the  "finger  sponges"  (Euspon- 
gia)  which  occur  in  a  variety  of  forms  but  consist 
always  of  a  cluster  of  hollow  "fingers."  There  are 
Neptune's  cups  (Hircina)  which  may  hold  from  a 
pint  to  a  bushel,  and  they  vary  as  much  in  size 


300  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

and  form  as  do  the  finger  sponges.  Other  sponge 
forms  are  long  and  slender,  closely  mimicking  the 
Gorgonias  or  madrepore  corals.  There  are  also 
small,  slender  scarlet  ones,  and  finally  the  Clionas 
which  bore  into  and  destroy  immense  numbers  of 
'  shells.  These  ricks  of  sea  trash  upon  the  beaches 
are  excellent  natural  history  museums. 

I  know  of  no  greater  pleasure  than  that  of  a 
naturalist  or  collector,  in  the  woods,  the  swamps, 
along  the  streams  or  upon  the  open  sea  shore.  I 
pity  those  whose  entire  life  and  energies  are  de- 
voted to  money  making,  who  have  never  revelled  in 
the  beauty  and  freedom  of  the  great  out-of-doors. 
I  pity  those  with  unlimited  wealth,  whose  lives  are 
spent  in  seeking  any  kind  of  a  sensation,  anything 
to  consume  the  remorseless  time  which  oppresses 
them, — who  would  give  anything  for  a  new  or 
real  thrill.  Here  on  the  sea  shore  are  thrills  with- 
out number  and  discoveries  many  awaiting  the 
trained  eye  of  the  investigator.  Here  is  opened 
wide  the  great  book  of  nature,  the  gleaming  page 
filled  with  wonders.  Here  too,  is  health,  peace, 
and  contentment,  and  a  new  life  for  the  soul  cloyed 
with  the  artificialities  of  an  over  stimulated  civi- 
lization. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Wonders  of  Ajax  Reef 


M 


OST  of  us  are  familiar  with  many 
beautiful  landscapes  of  mountains  or 
plain  or  of  wide  ocean  reaches  and 
some  know  the  glories  of  a  tropic 
night  when  the  sky  is  brilliant  with  big  stars  that 
show  their  perspective,  but  comparatively  few  have 
gazed  on  the  wonderful  scenes  beneath  the  sea. 
My  first  experience  in  actually  seeing  and  going 
about  among  the  living  fish,  corals,  and  other 
marine  animals  of  a  coral  reef  was  an  event  of 
my  life. 

Ajax  Reef  is  a  little  less  than  three  miles  off 
Elliott's  Key,  and  is  distant  about  eighteen  nauti- 
cal miles  from  Miami  in  a  south  by  east  direction. 
It  is  only  a  small  part  of  the  long  series  of  reefs 
which  I  have  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on  the 
Florida  Keys.  In  places  they  are  awash  or  show 
a  bit  above  the  sea  in  low  tides  and  along  them 
301 


302  IN  LOWER  FLORID/1  WILDS 

on  either  side  the  water  varies  in  depth  from  a 
few  feet  to  six  or  seven  fathoms. 

In  May,  1915  I  was  on  the  dredging  yacht  Eolis 
on  which  her  owner,  Mr.  John  B.  Henderson,  with 
a  small  party  of  friends  were  cruising  among  the 
keys.  One  night  we  anchored  just  north  of 
Caesar's  Creek  bank.  On  the  following  morning 
the  sky  was  clear  and  the  water  of  Hawk  Channel 
was  dead  calm.  Henderson  proposed  we  visit 
Ajax  Reef  in  the  launch  to  set  traps  for  mollusks 
and  collect  on  the  shoals.  It  was  a  wonderful 
run  across  the  channel;  standing  in  the  bow  and 
gazing  down  it  seemed  as  though  we  were  in  an 
aeroplane,  swiftly  skimming  through  the  air  thirty 
or  forty  feet  above  the  ground,  so  clear  being  the 
water  we  could  see  the  bottom  as  through  a  plate 
glass.  Only  the  ' '  bone  in  the  teeth ' '  of  the  launch 
and  the  wake  of  white  water  following  made  us 
realize  we  were  not  actually  flying. 

In  places  the  bottom  was  carpeted  with  a  bottle- 
green  growth  consisting  of  a  couple  of  grasslike 
plants,  a  Cymodoce  or  "manatee  grass"  and  a 
Thalassia  or  "turtle  grass."  Both  are  washed 
ashore  on  our  coasts  in  great  abundance  and  are 
wrongly  called  seaweed.  Here  and  there  we  saw 


THE  WONDERS  OF  A] AX  REEF       303 

great  rounded  sponges  of  the  size  and  shape  of 
pumpkins  (Hippospongia)  and  occasionally  a  large 
star  fish, — a  Pentaceros.  In  other  places  the 
bottom  was  of  a  smooth  sandy  mud  without 
any  growth  on  it  whatever. 

Suddenly  as  we  proceeded  rapidly  along,  the 
level  floor  of  the  sea  changed  and  before  us  arose 
two  rounded  knolls  reaching  up  to  within  seven 
or  eight  feet  of  the  surface.  Upon  them  grew 
thickets — I  almost  said  forests, — of  corals  and 
Gorgonias  or  sea  fans.  They  crowned  the  tops  of 
the  hillocks  and  occupied  areas  along  their  sides 
leaving  spots  of  gleaming  white,  sandy  bottom 
between.  We  were  going  in  an  easterly  direction 
toward  the  morning  sunlight  which  streamed 
through  the  submarine  valley  and  into  these 
masses  of  growth  with  a  bewilderingly  beautiful 
effect.  In  and  out  among  these  lovely  thickets 
schools  of  the  most  gaudily  and  fantastically 
colored  fish  lazed  and  drifted. 

The  number  of  these  fishes  was  amazing,  their 
color  and  grace  indescribable.  Flashing  just 
above  the  reef  were  hundreds  of  a  small  fish  never 
over  six  inches  long  and  shaped  like  the  "pumpkin 
seed"  of  northern  fresh  waters,  its  color  being  of 


304  IN  LOWER.  FLORIDA  WILDS 

a  delicate  yellowish  green  with  five  or  six  vertical 
indigo  bands.  This  little  living  jewel  bears  the 
atrocious  scientific  name  of  Abudefduf  saxatilis. 
Anyone  who  would  blight  the  life  and  reputation 
of  such  a  wonderful  creature  by  calling  it  "Abudef- 
duf  "  ought  to  be  barred  from  naming  any  more  of 
nature's  creations.  And  its  common  names  of 
"cow  pilot"  and  "sergeant  major"  are  not  much 
better.  We  ought  to  have  a  society  for  the  pre- 
vention of  nomenclatural  cruelty  to  animals. 

Immense  schools  of  the  parrot  fish  (Scarus 
cceruleus),  much  larger  than  the  first,  raced  through 
the  water  at  terrific  speed.  It  is  rather  stout  in 
build  and  is  of  an  almost  uniform  turquoise  blue. 
Even  more  brilliant  but  rarer  was  a  smaller  fish  of 
a  dazzling  red  (Priacanthus  ?)  which  was  much  less 
bold  than  the  parrot  fish.  It  only  appeared  when 
someone  disturbed  it  in  its  hiding  places.  Re- 
cently I  have  seen  a  statement  of  Professor  W.  H. 
Longley,  who  has  made  extensive  studies  of  the 
fishes  of  the  Tortugas,  that  the  red  fishes  at  that 
place  are  nocturnal.  This  would  account  for  the 
fact  that  this  species  was  only  seen  when  driven 
out  of  its  concealment. 

There    were    ponderous    brownish,    variegated 


.  • 


Upper  Cut.     Abudefduf  saxatilis 

Courtesy  of  the  New  York  Zoological  Society 

Lower  Cut.     Coral  Reef  on  Southeast  Coast  of  Florida 

Photo  by  Submarine  Photo  Company.      Photo  made  under  the  sea 


THE  WONDERS  OF  A] AX  REEF       305 

groupers  which  hung  about  the  deeper  spots 
among  the  gardens  and  shot  through  the  water 
so  rapidly  that  they  looked  like  a  trail  of  smoke. 
Among  the  remarkable  forms  was  the  "four 
eyes"  (Chcetodon  capistratus) ,  a  lovely  little  thing 
of  blue  and  brown  markings,  having  a  round, 
black  "eye"  surrounded  by  a  white  border  on 
each  side  of  the  body  just  in  front  of  the  tail, 
the  whole  set  in  a  smoky  brown  patch.  There 
were  two  species  of  angel  fish  (Angelichthys) 
which  are  certainly  angelic  in  their  scaly  robes  of 
gorgeous  color.  There  were  ' '  yellow  tails, "  "  pork 
fish,"  "porgies,"  "grunts,"  "snappers,"  and  many 
others,  but  the  queen  of  them  all  and  perhaps  the 
most  gorgeous  fish  in  the  world  was  the  rock 
beauty  (Holocanthus  tricolor}.  This  superb  crea- 
ture is  one  of  the  Chaetodonts  or  "butterfly" 
fishes,  a  group  well  represented  in  Florida  waters 
and  that  contains  a  number  of  handsome  species. 
It  attains  a  length  of  a  foot,  has  a  high  body,  the 
ground  color  of  which  is  jet  black.  The  forward 
part  of  the  body,  tail,  pectoral,  and  hinder  part 
of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins  are  of  a  brilliant,  deep 
gold;  there  are  markings  of  rich  orange  on  the 
dorsal  and  anal  fins  and  around  the  gills,  while 


306  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

the  mouth  is  blue.  According  to  Jordan  and 
Evermann's  Fishes  of  Middle  and  North  America 
this  is  not  known  from  the  waters  of  the  United 
States  but  it  really  is  not  rare  on  the  southeast 
coast  of  Florida. 

We  ran  slowly  over  a  diversified  bottom,  stop- 
ping now  and  then  to  absorb  and  revel  in  the 
strange  and  beautiful  sight.  What  first  strikes  the 
visitor  to  such  a  reef  is  the  wonderful  color  scheme, 
and  then  the  amazing  wealth  of  animal  life.  On 
land  a  few  birds  may  be  seen  in  an  ordinary  land- 
scape; a  moderate  number  of  butterflies  and  other 
insects;  a  wild  mammal  of  any  kind  is  rarely  en- 
countered, but  here  are  actually  acres  of  living 
things  closely  crowded  together.  There  are  hills 
and  dales  of  corals,  and  fields  of  sea  fans,  and 
everywhere  the  gorgeous  unbelievable  fishes. 

The  foundations  of  all  this  edifice  of  animal 
life  are  great  rounded  masses  of  corals,  the  As- 
treans,  eight  to  ten  feet  across.  Among  them, 
and  a  little  above  in  the  structure  of  the  reef, 
are  other  coral  heads  (Meandrina)  almost  as  large 
but  having  their  surfaces  cut  into  intricate  ridges. 
They  are  called  "brain  corals"  from  the  fact  that 
their  surfaces  so  closely  resemble  the  convolutions 


THE  WONDERS  OF  A] AX  REEF       307 

of  a  brain.  Other  species  grow  in  masses,  having 
irregular  surfaces  with  wavy  or  scalloped  borders — 
Agaricias,  perhaps;  nearer  the  top  are  the  more 
delicate  branching  forms,  the  madrepores.  The 
color  of  most  of  these  corals  is  a  rich,  warm  brown, 
but  the  exposed,  growing  edges  are  much  lighter. 
Porites,  sometimes  in  masses  or  developing  into 
heavy  club-shaped  branches,  are  common.  Then 
there  are  the  millepores,  corals  resembling  some 
of  the  more  slender  sponges,  but  growing  in  large 
heads. 

The  Alcyonarians,  which  include  the  sea  fans, 
are  everywhere  in  evidence  growing  out  from  the 
masses  of  coral  and  often  surmounting  them;  the 
most  abundant  is  Gorgonia  ftabellum,  the  ordinary 
sea  fan,  either  yellow  or  purple.  Almost  as  num- 
erous and  equally  beautiful  is  Gorgonia  acerosa, 
composed  of  slender  branches  instead  of  the  lace- 
like  network  of  the  first.  There  are  two  other 
Gorgonias,  one  with  heavier  branches  than  ace- 
rosa, and  from  which  the  corky  substance  near 
the  base  falls  away.  All  these  Alcyonarians  are 
reef  dwellers  and  live  only  in  warm  waters.  They 
are  each  a  colony  of  polyps  living  upon  a  central, 
horny,  flexible  axis,  thus  differing  from  the  true 


3o8  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

corals  which  are  wholly  calcareous.  The  color 
may  be  purple,  brown,  or  yellow,  and  they  some- 
times attain  a  height  of  several  feet  with  pro- 
portionate breadth.  They  are  among  the  most 
abundant  and  beautiful  objects  of  the  reefs. 
From  the  fact  that  they  simulate  the  form  and 
appearance  of  plants  and  possibly  because  they 
sway  to  and  fro  with  the  motion  of  the  water  like 
seaweeds,  they  are  responsible  for  the  name 
"gardens  of  the  sea"  usually  applied  to  living 
coral  reefs  or  patches. 

Completely  fascinated  we  drifted  idly  about, 
gazing  down  and  calling  attention  to  the  warty, 
dull  purple,  sea  cucumbers,  the  star  fish,  and  the 
many  sea  urchins  including  the  Diademas  with 
their  long,  villainous  violate-black  spines.  Cer- 
tain species  of  sea  urchins  carve  out  holes  in  the 
solid  rocks  for  their  abodes.  It  has  been  thought 
these  excavations  were  made  by  action  of  an  acid 
which  the  animal  exuded,  but  Alexander  Agassiz 
maintains  that  the  work  is  done  mechanically,  the 
animal  chiseling  out  the  rock  with  its  teeth.  It 
keeps  turning  around  slowly  cutting  the  hole  or 
depression  to  fit  the  shape  of  its  extended  arms  or 
spines.  Some  of  the  sea  urchins  bury  themselves 


THE  WONDERS  OF  AJAX  REEF       309 

quite  deeply  and  eventually  grow  too  large  ever  to 
escape,  thus  making  themselves  prisoners  for  life. 

Growing  on  the  bottom  in  shallow  places  about 
the  reefs  are  beds  of  nullipores,  some  of  which  have 
quite  the  appearance  of  sea  fans  but  their  color  is 
green  and  their  structure  stony.  The  commonest 
of  these  is  Halimeda  tridens,  which  is  made  up  of 
angular,  jointed  pieces.  Some  of  the  numerous 
algae  growing  on  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  reef  are 
exquisitely  beautiful  in  form  and  color.  One  of 
these  (Acetabularia)  looks  exactly  like  a  delicate, 
slender-stemmed  but  very  green  little  mushroom. 
The  stem  may  be  at  most  three  inches  long  and  its 
little  cap  attain  a  diameter  of  slightly  over  half 
an  inch.  A  colony  of  them  on  the  sea  bottom  is  a 
charming  sight.  Some  of  the  algae  are  red,  others 
may  be  purple,  brown,  or  intense  bluish  green. 
There  is  a  wealth  and  diversity  of  life  on  this  reef 
to  keep  one  interested  and  filled  with  wonder  for 
months. 

But  where  are  the  mollusks  or  "shells,"  as  they 
are  commonly  called?  In  passing  let  me  say  that 
it  is  no  more  proper  to  apply  this  term  of  "shells" 
to  the  mollusks  than  it  would  be  to  use  it  for 
lobsters  or  turtles.  The  shell  of  a  mollusk  is 


310  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

merely  the  hard,  outer  coating  or  external  skeleton 
that  protects  the  animal.  On  a  living  coral  reef 
mollusks  are  most  conspicuous  by  their  absence 
or  by  the  invisibility  of  those  present.  It  simply 
is  not  a  favorable  station  save  for  a  few  species 
well  concealed  by  their  color  markings.  A  dead 
reef,  on  the  contrary,  is  very  rich  in  mollusks  but 
they  are  mostly  carefully  hidden.  In  a  newspaper 
article  I  once  read,  the  writer  told  of  visiting  a  coral 
reef  and  made  statements  which  made  me  think  he 
had  never  seen  a  reef  at  all.  Among  other  things 
he  said  that  the  bottom  was  covered  with  the 
loveliest,  brightest,  and  most  astonishing  shells 
(mollusks),  that  they  clung  to  the  corals  and  sea 
fans,  and  fairly  bespangled  the  submarine  view  as 
do  the  stars  in  the  heavens  on  a  clear  night.  Some 
of  my  conchologist  friends  would  circle  the  earth 
to  find  that  reef. 

It  may  be  well  to  say  a  few  words  here  about 
protection  among  animals.  Most  of  the  members 
of  the  animal  kingdom  are  either  pursuers  or  the 
pursued,  while  many  are  both.  It  is  the  business 
of  the  first  to  seize  and  devour  the  second  and 
of  the  second  to  elude  the  first.  Hence  the  pur- 
sued have  to  resort  to  many  tricks  and  devices  to 


THE  WONDERS  OF  A] AX  REEF       311 

avoid  their  pursuers  and  to  defend  themselves. 
In  some  cases  the  hunted  ones  so  closely  mimic 
their  surroundings  or  imitate  the  appearance  of 
some  other  animal  that  is  never  pursued,  enough 
of  them  manage  to  escape  capture  to  perpetuate 
the  race.  Most  of  the  butterflies  fly  in  zigzags, 
so  that  a  pursuing  bird  is  apt  to  miss  them. 
Many  have  the  under  sides  of  the  wings  a  dull  or 
dusky  color  so  when  they  alight  and  fold  them  they 
look  exactly  like  the  surface  of  the  branch  or  tree 
trunk  on  which  they  rest.  A  great  many  of  them 
(as  well  as  other  animals)  have  a  nauseous  taste 
and  no  matter  how  gaudy  their  colors  may  be  the 
pursuers  let  them  alone.  When  A.  D.  Brown,  a 
distinguished  conchologist,  was  collecting  land 
snails  in  Haiti  he  noticed  on  the  trees  specimens  of 
a  lovely  green  and  gold  Helicina.  He  wondered 
why  so  conspicuous  an  animal  should  carelessly 
expose  itself  to  its  enemies.  But  one  day  he  had 
occasion  to  put  one  in  his  mouth  and  he  knew  the 
reason  at  once;  it  was  bitter  as  gall!  Other  ani- 
mals are  armed  for  defense;  still  others  may  be 
exceedingly  swift  of  wing  or  foot  or  fin ;  all  have 
at  least  some  means  of  eluding  their  foes. 

Here  on  this  reef  the  gorgeously  colored  fish 


312  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

that  display  themselves  so  recklessly  owe  their 
safety  partly  to  their  swiftness  and  to  the  fact  that 
they  stick  pretty  closely  to  shelter.  Let  a  shark 
or  barracuda  appear  and  like  a  flash  they  are 
gone  or  out  of  sight.  Some  of  these  reef  fishes 
have  the  chameleon-like  power  to  alter  their  colors 
to  harmonize  with  the  bottom  or  the  corals  about 
them.  Longley  has  made  photographs  of  reef 
loving  hog  fishes  (Lachnolaimus  maximus)  show- 
ing different  color  phases;  a  lighter,  more  uniform 
color  is  assumed  while  hovering  over  sand  and  a 
darker  mottled  tone  and  pattern  when  close  to 
broken  corals  and  among  gorgonians. 

Some  reef  mollusks  have  highly  colored  shells 
and  their  flesh  is  perfectly  palatable.  Now  it 
would  require  a  day  for  them  to  cover  the  same 
distance  a  fish  would  in  two  seconds,  indeed  some 
are  fixed  to  their  places  and  cannot  move  away  at 
all.  If  these  were  conspicuously  scattered  over  the 
floor  of  the  reef,  as  the  newspaper  article  set  forth, 
such  helpless  creatures  would  not  last  a  day;  they 
would  be  exterminated  between  sunrise  and  sun- 
set. Though  the  reef  mollusks  are  comparatively 
few  in  species  and  numbers,  they  are  nevertheless 
there  but  the  ordinary  observer  does  not  see  them. 


Hogfish  (Lachnolaimtts  maxlmus)  which  Lives  among  Coral  Reefs  and  Changes 
Color  in  Accordance  with  that  of  the  Bottom 

Photo  by  Prof.   W.   H.   Longley 
Published  by  courtesy  of  New  York  Zoological   Society 


THE  WONDERS  OF  A] AX  REEF        313 

I  " 

There  are  several  of  the  Areas,  typified  by  the 

"Noah's  ark,"  and  all  are  attached  to  dead  coral 
masses  or  other  hard  objects  by  a  "byssus," — a 
set  of  strong  threads  issuing  from  the  foot  of  the 
animal  and  securely  fastened  to  its  anchorage. 
They  are  difficult  to  detect  because  they  are  almost 
always  encrusted  with  algae,  hydrozoa,  nullipores, 
or  calcareous  matter.  There  are  three  or  four 
species  of  Lima  with  attractive  white  bivalve  shells 
and  an  inside  mantle  border  of  very  brilliant 
scarlet  filaments,  most  gorgeous  objects  when  ex- 
posed to  view.  They  build  for  themselves  nests 
of  shell  fragments,  bits  of  coral  and  seaweed,  so 
cunningly  constructed  that  their  enemies  search- 
ing for  them  but  rarely  get  them.  There  are 
three  handsomely  colored  "micramocks"  (Cypraaea 
spp.)  that  hide  under  the  rocks  and  dead  coral 
slabs  and  so  manage  to  maintain  a  dark  back- 
ground against  which  their  dark-colored  mantles 
scarcely  show.  The  Purpuras  live  on  the  reef 
rocks,  even  those  occasionally  exposed  at  low  tide, 
but  their  pretty  shells  are  most  effectively  con- 
cealed with  confervoid  growths. 

As  soon  as  a  growing  reef  reaches  the  level  of 
low  tide  the  continual  hammering  of  the  breakers, 


314  IN  LOWER.  FLORIDA  WILDS 

particularly  during  storms,  breaks  down  the  corals 
and  the  fragments  left  are  rolled  and  ground  about 
until  they  are  reduced  to  sand  and  mud.  The 
dead  portions  of  a  coral  reef  are  made  up  of  the 
most  inconceivably  rough  and  irregular  rock  mass 
with  fragments  of  every  size  and  shape  scattered 
about.  Among  these  fragments  but  chiefly  under 
them  thousands  of  mollusks  and  other  marine 
animals  take  refuge  and  live  in  comparative  safety, 
for  no  enemy  is  likely  to  overturn  the  rocks  which 
shelter  them.  The  crevices  fairly  swarm  with 
life,  crabs,  sea  urchins,  star  fish,  mollusks,  worms, 
anemones,  hydroids,  and  a  vast  number  of  others. 
Break  open  any  old  mass  of  coral  and  in  all  pro- 
bability it  will  contain  a  number  of  boring  mol- 
lusks,— Botulas,  Pholads,  Lithophagus,  Gastro- 
chaenas  and  Saxicavas. 

In  the  sandy  or  muddy  patches  of  an  old  reef 
may  generally  be  found  great  white  Tellinas  and 
Codakias,  Strombus,  the  graceful  little  Colum- 
bellas,  Marginellas,  and  other  interesting  and 
beautiful  mollusks  in  great  variety,  but  all  so 
hidden  in  one  way  or  another  that  only  a  close 
search  will  discover  them.  There  is  a  curious  mol- 
lusk  an  inch  or  more  in  length  (Ultimus  gibbostis) 


THE  WONDERS  OF  AJAX  REEF        315 

that  lives  on  the  sea  fans.  The  lips  of  its  shell 
are  rolled  and  folded  in  and  it  has  a  rather  sharply 
defined  ridge  around  its  center.  The  base  and  a 
streak  on  the  back  are  whitish  while  the  sides  are  a 
warm  fawn  color.  It  so  closely  harmonizes  with 
its  host  that,  no  doubt,  it  fools  its  enemies  very 
successfully.  Another  related  form  (Amphiperas 
acicularis)  is  more  slender  and  delicate;  when  it 
grows  on  a  yellow  sea  fan  it  is  also  yellow,  when 
on  purple  ones  it  is  purple. 

Among  the  Florida  reefs  life  reaches  its  high 
tide  of  strenuous  existence;  it  attains  to  its  zenith, 
its  noonday,  its  full  glory.  Nowhere  is  compe- 
tition for  food  and  existence  more  fierce  than 
among  these  low  rocks  and  in  these  coral  sands. 
As  a  natural  consequence  here  are  to  be  seen  and 
studied  the  most  varied  and  remarkable  devices 
for  protection. 

During  a  visit  to  Sand  Key  reef  we  all  descended 
by  turns  under  a  diving  helmet  which  Mr.  Hen- 
derson had  on  board.  This  device  consists  of  a 
brass  hood  which  encloses  the  head  while  resting 
on  the  shoulders,  so  weighted  and  adjusted  that 
the  wearer  can  walk  with  ease  on  the  bottom  or 
study  and  collect  his  specimens  while  air  is  being 


3i6  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

pumped  down  as  into  an  ordinary  diving  suit. 
Through  a  glass  plate  one  can  get  an  excellent 
view  about.  With  this  aid  one  comes  into  the 
closest  contact  with  the  reef  and  its  marvelous 
life;  it  was  like  entering  into  a  new  world — like 
visiting  another  planet. 

My  visit  to  Ajax  is  an  unforgettable  experience. 
It  was  my  first  sight  of  the  marine  knolls  crowned 
with  "gardens"  of  corals  and  sea  fans,  with 
sponges,  hydroids,  and  algae  all  seen  through  a 
clear  luminous  medium.  What  a  riot  of  beauty! 
What  a  swarming  of  life!  What  hynotic  motion 
of  fish  and  swaying  of  vegetation.  It  is  one  of 
my  most  precious  memories. 


CHAPTER  XV 

XHe  Secrets  of  tKe  Sea 

FOR  a  number  of  years  past  I  have  cruised 
and  dredged  during  the  months  of  May 
and  June  with  Mr.  John  B.  Henderson  of 
Washington  in  his  power  boat  the  Eolis 
in  and  about  the  Hawk  Channel  and  on  the 
"Pourtales    Plateau."    These   trips   were   made 
expressly  for   study   and   to  collect  the  marine 
fauna.     They  have  afforded  me  exceptional  oppor- 
tunities for  observation  and  the  gathering  of  data. 
The  Hawk  Channel,  lying  between  the  Florida 
Keys  and  the  reefs,  has  been  described  in  another 
chapter.     The  Pourtales  Plateau  is  a  long  narrow 
stretch  of  rock  bottom  lying  some  miles  without 
and  parallel  with   the   Florida  reef.     It  begins 
southwest  of  Sand  Key  and  ends  about  opposite 
the  southern  end  of  Key  Largo.     It  lies  just  within 
the  edge  of  the  Gulf  Stream  or  between  the  100-200 
fathom  lines. 

317 


3i8  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

The  plateau  is  named  after  Count  L.  F.  Pour- 
tales  who  discovered  it  many  years  ago  and  by  his 
dredging  operations  upon  it  has  made  it  a  classical 
ground  to  naturalists.  In  the  Hawk  Channel  the 
water  is  more  or  less  protected  by  the  outer  reef; 
the  bottom  is  usually  soft  and  supports  in  certain 
localities  a  rich  and  abundant  marine  fauna. 
The  foundation  of  the  plateau,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  a  recent  limestone  built  of  remains  of  the  count- 
less marine  organisms  that  have  lived  upon  it. 
Throughout  the  floor  is  an  uneven  complicated 
surface  and  it  fairly  swarms  with  life.  It  is,  how- 
ever, so  very  rough  and  broken  that  all  dredging 
over  it  is  most  difficult. 

The  Eolis  has  a  large  cockpit  aft  which  contains 
the  sounding  and  hoisting  machinery,  and  in  it 
the  dredged  material  is  sifted,  washed,  and  as- 
sorted. The  dredges  we  use  consist  of  two  strong, 
parallel  steel  blades,  either  of  which  may  scrape 
the  bottom,  and  these  are  held  in  place  by  two 
heavy  bars  or  standards,  so  that  the  whole  forms  a 
frame  seven  or  eight  inches  wide  and  thirty  inches 
to  four  feet  long.  The  front  parts  of  the  blades 
are  hammered  to  an  edge  in  order  better  to  scrape 
the  bottom;  a  row  of  holes  is  punched  along  their 


Outlines  of  Dredge.     Upper  Figure,  Front  View;   a,  a, 

Blades  for  Scraping  up  Material  from  Bottom  with 

Perforations  for  Attaching    Sack;    c,   c,    Cross 

Bars;    b,    b,    Arms;    d,    Rings    to    which 

Dredging  Rope  is  Attached 

Lower  Figure,  Side  View;  a,  a,  Scraping  Blades;  c,  Bar 

Fastened  to  Ends  of  Blades;  b,  b,  Arms;  d, 

Ring;  e,  Rope;  f,  Outline  of  Sack 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  319 

rear  edges  and  to  these  a  heavy  knit  sack  is  lashed 
which  drags  behind  and  catches  whatever  is 
loosened  from  the  bottom.  This  sack  is  protected 
by  stout  canvas  lest  it  be  torn  as  it  drags  over 
the  rocks.  The  dredge  is  drawn  by  two  pairs  of 
round  iron  arms,  the  after  ends  of  each  being 
turned  around  the  standards  at  each  end  of  the 
dredge  frame  and  they  may  be  folded  down  over 
its  mouth  when  it  is  not  in  use.  The  forward  end 
of  each  pair  of  arms  is  bent  into  an  eye  and  the 
dredge  rope  is  securely  fastened  to  one  of  these.  The 
eye  of  the  other  pair  is  lashed  to  the  rope  with  spun 
yarn  which  will  break  under  a  severe  strain,  usually 
allowing  the  whole  to  swing  around  and  pull  loose. 
The  line  used  in  dredging  is  %  inch,  of  ' '  plow  "  steel, 
and  of  special  make  for  flexibility  and  strength. 

If  the  dredge  be  hauled  too  rapidly  over  the 
bottom  it  will  skip  most  of  the  material  or  per- 
haps bury  itself  in  some  muddy  place  and  in  case 
of  meeting  with  rocks  it  will  be  badly  damaged, 
if  not  carried  away  and  lost.  The  work  requires 
the  greatest  care  and  constant  attention,  especially 
on  the  plateau  where  the  powerful  Gulf  Stream 
current  and  the  waves  of  the  open  sea  must  be 
reckoned  with. 


320          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

A  deep-sea  sounding  lead  with  concave  base 
containing  grease  and  attached  to  a  piano  wire  is 
lowered  before  every  dredge  haul.  This  gives  a 
depth  record  and  a  preliminary  sample  of  the 
bottom. 

With  a  boat  the  size  of  the  Eolis  it  is  only  pos- 
sible to  dredge  in  the  open  sea  when  the  weather 
is  good  and  it  is  reasonably  smooth.  So  we  gen- 
erally sought  a  harbor  every  night.  When  work- 
ing on  the  lower  end  of  the  Pourtales  Plateau  we 
used  Key  West  as  a  base.  Dredging  is  not  all  fun 
and  relaxation  by  any  means.  Often  for  days  at 
a  time  the  wind  would  blow  too  hard  for  outside 
work  and  we  would  be  compelled  to  content  our- 
selves with  the  light  dredge  inside  the  reef — gen- 
erally with  meager  results.  Given  a  suitable  day, 
sometimes  we  would  make  haul  after  haul  in  deep 
water  and  get  nothing.  Occasionally  the  bag,  as 
if  possessed  by  the  devil,  would  get  fouled  over 
the  edges  of  the  blades  and  come  up  after  a  long 
laborious  haul  empty  as  it  went  down.  Gen- 
erally an  experienced  dredger  can  tell  by  putting 
his  hand  on  the  rope  what  the  machine  below  is 
doing.  Again  it  would  come  up,  after  having 
badly  fouled  on  the  rocky  bottom,  twisted  out  of 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  321 

shape,  but  possibly  containing  valuable  material, 
and  more  than  once  we  lost  it  altogether. 

I  think  the  gambling  element  must  be  strongly 
developed  in  all  of  us,  for  every  time  we  made  an 
unsuccessful  haul  the  failure  would  seem  to  inspire 
us  with  confidence  in  better  luck  next  time. 
Everyone  on  board  is  full  of  feverish  expectancy 
as  the  dredge  is  being  hoisted  up  after  a  good 
bumpy  quarter  of  an  hour  on  bottom.  Far  down 
in  the  water  a  faint  cloud  is  first  seen, — the  mud 
and  sand  washing  out  as  it  is  steadily  drawn  up. 
The  cloud  grows  larger  until  at  last  the  dredge 
itself  appears,  its  white  "skirts"  flashing  in  the 
clear  indigo-blue  water  far  below.  All  are  eager 
to  get  it  aboard  and  emptied  and  inspect  the  con- 
tents. If  there  is  a  good  haul  it  well  repays  for 
the  disappointment  of  many  poor  ones. 

The  season  of  1916  had  been  a  bad  one.  Day 
after  day  the  wind  blew  half  a  gale,  so  that  we 
could  do  nothing  even  in  the  harbor.  On  the  two 
or  three  occasions  when  we  did  get  outside  we 
were  either  driven  in  by  a  strong  breeze  springing 
up  or  we  had  bad  fouls  on  bottom  or  "water 
hauls."  Our  time  was  drawing  to  a  close  and 
we  hadn't  made  a  single  decent  haul.  One  morn- 


322  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

ing  the  sea  was  nearly  calm,  and  Henderson  de- 
clared he  was  going  out  to  try  his  luck  among  the 
rocks  of  the  plateau.  "You'll  lose  a  dredge  if 
you  do,"  said  the  Captain,  but  H.  was  firm  in  his 
determination;  and  out  we  continued  until  we 
were  twelve  miles  south  of  Sand  Key.  The 
sounding  line  showed  a  hundred  and  twenty 
fathoms,  rock,  and  the  dredge  was  put  over.  In 
due  time  it  was  hauled  up  and  on  watching  for  it 
no  cloud  was  seen,  and  we  concluded  that  it  had 
fouled  or  that  there  was  nothing  loose  on  the  bot- 
tom. But  when  it  appeared  a  most  astonishing 
sight  met  our  eyes.  It  was  full  to  overflowing 
with  a  more  wonderful  quantity  and  variety  of 
deep  sea  life  than  we  had  ever  seen  in  all  our  pre- 
vious season's  hauls.  It  reminded  one  of  the  pic- 
tures of  the  bag  carried  by  Santa  Glaus  with  toys 
sticking  out  in  every  direction. 

Conspicuous  among  this  material  was  a  large 
number  of  specimens  of  "stone  lilies"  of  the  genus 
Antedon  or  Comatulids,  belonging  to  the  order  of 
crinoids.  The  crinoids  swarmed  in  the  seas  of 
early  geological  time,  but  their  number  has  grad- 
ually decreased  until  only  a  relatively  few  species 
are  known  to  inhabit  the  oceans  of  to-day.  There 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  323 

are  two  quite  distinct  groups  of  them  existing  in 
our  seas;  the  Comatulids  or  feather  stars,  in  which 
there  is  a  lily-like  head  that  is  attached  by  a  stem 
to  the  bottom  while  the  animal  is  young,  the  head 
being  severed  in  later  life  and  swimming  free. 
The  dorsal  part  of  the  body  carries  a  number  of 
jointed,  flexible  processes  by  means  of  which  the 
animal  can  attach  itself  to  any  firm  object.  In 
the  other  group,  the  true  crinoids,  the  body  re- 
mains fastened  by  the  long,  flexible  stem  through- 
out life.  The  former  may  be  likened  to  a  vessel 
moored  to  a  buoy  and  the  latter  to  one  that  is 
anchored. 

No  description  can  give  an  idea  of  the  grace  and 
attractiveness  of  these  animals,  which  retain  much 
of  their  beauty  even  when  they  have  been  torn 
loose  from  the  bottom  and  brought  to  the  surface. 
In  life  their  long,  elegantly  jointed  arms  wave 
freely  in  the  water  as  the  currents  move  over  them, 
and  their  resemblance  to  a  bed  of  long-stemmed 
lilies  is  no  doubt  striking.  In  the  dredge  were 
many  beautiful,  strange,  even  grotesque  crabs  in 
great  variety,  green,  brown,  red,  bluish  white,  and 
gray;  there  were  equally  interesting  and  curious 
sea  urchins  with  spines  of  strange  and  fantastic 


324          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

forms.  No  less  than  five  species  of  Brachyopods 
or  "lamp  shells"  were  taken.  Until  quite  re- 
cently these  were  very  rare  in  collections,  as 
comparatively  few  species  inhabit  shallow  water, 
but  since  the  days  of  deep  sea  dredging  expe- 
ditions we  know  that  they  must  be  very  abun- 
dant in  places.  Like  the  crinoids  they  were  very 
abundant  in  Paleozoic  oceans,  but  have  been  de- 
clining since.  They  possess  bivalve  shells  which 
are  always  equal-sided  but  never  equivalved,  and 
are  provided  internally  with  a  pair  of  coiled  arms. 
Early  authorities  placed  them  with  the  mollusks 
while  others  believed  them  to  be  related  to  the 
worms,  but  modern  systematists  assign  them  to  a 
distinct  zoological  class  of  their  own.  We  dredged 
them  in  great  numbers,  usually  in  large  clusters 
much  like  bunches  of  amber  colored  grapes  and, 
as  one  of  our  party  remarked,  looking  good  enough 
to  eat.  Some  of  them  were  very  large  for  lamp 
shells,  being  nearly  two  inches  in  diameter. 

There  were  a  number  of  exceedingly  interesting 
single  corals;  one  or  two  exquisite  Hydroids;  sea 
anemones,  those  flowers  of  the  ocean,  but  so 
tightly  closed  and  covered  with  foreign  matter 
that  at  first  we  overlooked  them.  We  got  many 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  325 

strange  and  curious  worms  and  mollusks  by  the 
hundreds.  Among  the  latter  were  elegantly  fringed 
Murices  with  a  long  spire  and  many  spines  (Murex 
beaui),  and  a  rare  species  of  the  same  group  be- 
longing to  a  Pacific  race.  There  were  lovely  Mi- 
crogazas,  whose  depressed,  iridescent  shells  look 
like  flattened  pearls ;  and  then  red  spotted  Volutes  of 
three  species,  and  elegantly  variced  Scalas  (notably 
Epitonium  pernobilis).  The  genus  Scala  is  repre- 
sented in  collections  by  the  well  known  royal  wentle- 
trap  (S.  pretiosa)  from  Oriental  seas,  which  was 
formerly  greatly  prized  on  account  of  its  beauty 
and  rarity,  fine  specimens  having  at  one  time 
brought  as  much  as  two  hundred  guineas.  But 
our  perfect  specimen  of  Epitonium  pernobilis  is  as 
fine,  and  its  specific  name  is  aptly  applied.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  shells  in  the  world,  and 
one  of  the  rarest,  as  only  three  or  four  have  ever 
been  taken.  Its  pure  white,  rounded  whorls,  which 
scarcely  come  in  contact,  are  well  set  off  with  nu- 
merous wide  frilled  varices,  each  of  which  ends  in  a 
point  above,  thus  forming  a  perfect  crown. 

During  the  year  1869  a  series  of  dredgings  was 
made  under  the  direction  of  Count  Pourtales  by 
the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission  steamer  Bibb  in  the 


326          IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Strait  of  Florida.  The  mollusks  secured  were 
sent  to  Washington  and  later  to  William  Stimpson 
in  Chicago,  a  distinguished  naturalist,  who  was  to 
study  and  report  on  them.  Before  he  was  able  to 
do  so  the  entire  collection  was  destroyed  in  the 
great  fire.  While  the  shells  were  in  Washington 
Dr.  W.  H.  Ball  was  greatly  surprised  to  find 
among  them  a  small  Haliotis  or  "sea  ear."  These 
mollusks  have  their  metropolis  in  the  Pacific  and 
Indian  oceans.  Hitherto  Haliotis  had  only  been 
found  (one  species)  in  the  Atlantic  along  the 
western  coast  of  Africa.  The  discovery  of  one 
of  these  mollusks  in  Floridian  waters  was  a  great 
conchological  event.  Later  Dr.  Dall  published 
from  memory  a  description  of  this  destroyed  shell, 
naming  it  Haliotis  pourtalesi  in  honor  of  its  dis- 
coverer. Years  later  the  Albatross  dredged  a 
Haliotis  in  the  Galapagos  which  Dr.  Dall  referred 
to  this  species  with  some  doubt.  About  five 
years  ago  Mr.  Henderson  dredged  a  Haliotis  on 
the  Pourtales  Plateau  which  was  submitted  to 
Dr.  Dall,  who  unhesitatingly  pronounced  it  to  be 
co-specific  with  the  original  shell  which  had  been 
destroyed.  On  comparing  the  Haliotis  obtained 
by  Mr.  Henderson  with  the  Galapagos  specimen 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  327 

it  was  at  once  seen  that  though  much  alike  they 
belonged  to  different  species.  So  Mr.  Henderson 
renamed  the  Pacific  shell  in  honor  of  Dr.  Dall. 
The  Florida  Haliotis  is  quite  attractive,  the  outer 
part  being  waxy  yellow  with  patches  of  orange  and 
the  interior  a  brilliant  pearl.  As  only  this  speci- 
men dredged  by  Mr.  Henderson  and  a  few  other 
fragments  obtained  by  him  are  known  it  is  one  of 
the  rarest  shells  in  the  world.  Since  it  was  ob- 
tained at  a  depth  of  ninety  fathoms  and  all  the 
dredging  on  this  plateau  has  only  yielded  so  few 
of  them  it  is  likely  that  it  will  always  be  rare. 

Many  of  the  shells  of  these  deep  sea  mollusks 
are  richly  iridescent;  others  have  a  delicate 
shagreen,  caused  by  an  outer  pearly  layer  of 
minute  knobs  or  spines  which  gives  them  their 
sheen.  Among  shells  so  marked  were  several 
small  cockles  (Cardium  peramabile),  which  in  per- 
fect condition  looked  like  pearls.  Some  of  the 
Gazas,  which  belong  to  the  Trochus  family,  are 
most  exquisite  gems,  and  well  might  be  worn  as 
ornaments. 

Perhaps  the  most  astonishing  thing  we  took  was 
an  Ophiuran  or  "brittle  star,"  one  of  the  Echino- 
derms,  and  related  to  the  starfishes.  The  Ophi- 


328  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

urans  differ  from  the  true  starfishes  by  having 
a  central  disk  from  which  radiate  five  slender 
arms  which  may  or  may  not  be  branched.  The 
species  are  mostly  small  but  some  of  the  specimens 
we  dredged  had  the  amazing  length  from  tip  to  tip 
of  opposite  arms  of  two  and  a  half  feet!  One 
might  easily  fancy  them  the  hubs  and  spokes  of 
Neptune's  chariot  wheels. 

We  were  all  delighted  over  these  wonderful 
things,  and  Mr.  Henderson  declared  this  Ophiuran 
was  new  to  science.  He  said,  "Won't  Professor 
Clark"  (the  echinoderm  expert  at  the  Smithsonian) 
"be  astonished  over  this?  He'll  surely  have  a  fit 
when  he  sees  them ! "  In  Washington  H.  hastened 
at  once  to  Clark  and  proudly  exhibited  the 
trophies, — undoubtedly  new  and  the  largest  in 
the  world.  Clark  had  no  fit  at  all;  he  didn't  even 
fall  off  his  chair;  in  fact,  he  seemed  but  mildly 
interested. 

Finally  Clark  observed  quietly:  "Your  speci- 
mens are  quite  interesting,  but  we  have  others 
from  the  Pacific  which  measure  about  ten  feet 
across!"  It  is  related  that  H.  required  restora- 
tives. 

All  the  animals  which  came  up  alive  appeared 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  329 

dazed  when  dumped  out  of  the  dredge  into  the 
screen,  and  we  may  well  presume  that  they  were 
dazed.  Even  in  this  subtropical  sea  the  water 
at  a  depth  of  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 
fathoms  is  cold,  and  only  a  half  twilight  reigns 
there  during  the  hours  of  brightest  sunshine. 
These  creatures,  suddenly  snatched  from  the  sea 
bottom,  had  been  hauled  up  through  six  or  eight 
hundred  feet  of  water  and  diminishing  pressure  and 
thrown  out  into  the  hot  air  and  dazzling  sunlight. 
Some  of  them  feebly  crawled  about  in  the  helpless 
way  that  bees  do  when  their  smoked-out  hive  is 
rifled  of  its  honey.  The  more  delicate  creatures 
were  already  dead  when  turned  out  of  the  dredge. 

No  description  can  give  a  perfect  idea  of  the 
richness,  variety,  and  strangeness  of  the  animal 
life  brought  up  in  this  and  many  subsequent  hauls 
we  made.  We  could  not  realize  that  such  wealth 
of  deep  water  life  existed  within  but  a  few  miles 
of  Key  West,  and  but  a  furlong  below  the  deck 
on  which  we  stood.  Accustomed  to  the  shallower 
water,  fauna  of  the  reefs  and  adjacent  sea  bottom 
which  we  knew,  it  seemed  we  must  be  collecting 
on  some  other  planet  where  all  life  is  different. 

Many   of    these   forms   are    "old   fashioned," 


330  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

reminding  one  constantly  of  fossil  species  of  the 
Tertiary  age.  In  the  quiet,  cold,  dark  region 
where  the  deep  sea  animals  live  there  is  little 
change  in  environment  from  century  to  century, 
or  from  one  geological  age  to  another.  As  the 
struggle  for  existence  is  probably  much  less  fierce 
than  in  shallow  water  or  on  the  land  it  is  not 
strange  that  a  large  number  of  ancient  types 
belonging  to  past  ages  have  persisted  in  their 
unchangeable  surroundings. 

For  several  happy  days  the  weather  was  all  we 
could  desire  and  we  continued  our  hectic  dredging 
success.  But  at  last  we  were  reluctantly  com- 
pelled to  bid  good-by  to  the  Pourtales  Plateau,  but 
not  before  the  Captain's  prediction  came  true. 
Our  best  heavy  dredge  became  hopelessly  en- 
tangled in  the  rocks  and  no  amount  of  maneuver- 
ing would  loosen  it,  so  we  finally  had  to  cut  off  one 
hundred  and  twenty  fathoms  of  precious  rope  and 
abandon  the  whole  thing. 

What  a  thrilling  thing  it  would  be  to  go  down  to 
such  a  sea  bottom  and  observe  these  animals  in 
their  homes.  We  can  only  at  best  scratch  a  little 
here  and  there  and  get  a  few  handf uls  of  them ;  we 
can  merely  guess  at  their  habits  and  environment. 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  331 

No  doubt  there  are  very  many  forms  that  all  our 
labor  has  failed  to  bring  to  light,  but  readily  find- 
able  if  only  we  could  go  among  them ;  but  we  shall 
never  be  able  to  do  this.  The  pressure  of  the 
water  down  there  is  so  great  it  would  crush  any 
apparatus  we  could  devise  to  protect  us.  Inves- 
tigators differ  as  to  the  depth  to  which  the  light  of 
the  sun  penetrates  into  the  sea,  some  saying  it  is 
less  than  a  hundred  fathoms  and  others  that  it 
is  twice  that.  Much  depends,  no  doubt,  on  the 
clearness  of  the  water  and  the  directness  of  the 
sun's  rays,  but  it  is  probable  that  at  one  hundred 
and  fifty  fathoms,  the  greatest  depth  at  which  we 
dredged,  there  is  either  total  darkness  or  merely 
the  faintest  twilight  at  noonday. 

One  naturally  wonders  how  it  is  possible  so 
amazing  a  quantity  and  variety  of  animal  life  can 
exist  in  a  region  so  cold  and  dark  and  below  the 
limit  of  plant  existence.  On  the  Pourtales  Plateau 
there  is  an  overwhelming  abundance  of  food,  for 
the  region  lies  just  at  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  and  as 
Grant  Allen  has  remarked,  "The  tropics  are  bio- 
logical headquarters."  The  Gulf  Stream  sweeps 
over  it  constantly  bringing  pure,  warm  water 
literally  swarming  with  minute  life.  Most  of  this 


332  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

is  pelagic,  that  is,  it  floats  and  swims  either  on  or 
comparatively  near  the  surface  and  is  carried  about 
in  the  sea  without  fixed  abode. 

Besides  those  larger  pelagic  forms  already 
mentioned  (Janthinas,  the  Physalia  or  Portuguese 
man-of-war,  the  Vellelas  and  Porpitas)  there  are 
hosts  of  smaller  Medusae,  and  unnumbered  mil- 
lions of  Pteropods,  many  of  the  latter  having 
exquisitely  beautiful  hyaline  or  glassy  little  shells. 
Among  these  pelagic  mollusks  are  the  Hyalaeas, 
the  Creseis,  which  look  like  silvery  needles,  and 
the  Cuvierias,  whose  tests  resemble  dainty  little 
chalices.  There  is  an  infinite  variety  of  Proto- 
zoans, and  among  them  the  Noctilucas  which  fur- 
nish much  of  the  phosphorescence  of  the  sea. 
The  floating  gulf  weed  (Sargassum  nutans)  bears  a 
wealth  of  life,  especially  small  crustaceans  and 
mollusks.  Many  of  these  pelagic  animals  are 
very  short  lived,  but  they  reproduce  marvelously. 
According  to  Alexander  Agassiz  some  of  the 
Copepods,  which  are  minute  crustaceans,  have  no 
less  than  thirty  generations  in  three  weeks. 

These  pelagic  animals  are  constantly  dying,  and 
it  is  aptly  said  there  is  always  a  gentle  rain  of  food 
falling  over  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  Besides 


THE  SECRETS  OF  THE  SEA  333 

that  which  falls  as  a  "rain  "  a  great  amount  of  food 
stuff  is  washed  out  from  the  littoral  regions,  where 
it  decays  very  slowly  in  the  cold  waters  of  the 
deeper  ocean.  It  is  stated  on  good  authority  that 
over  wide  areas  on  or  near  the  sea  bottom  it  forms 
a  sort  of  broth,  a  veritable  free  soup  kitchen.  So 
the  food  is  amply  provided,  and  it  is  not  necessary 
for  the  animals  which  swarm  in  this  part  of  the 
sea  to  make  any  great  effort  to  obtain  it.  It 
reminds  one  of  people  in  the  tropics  lying  under 
the  trees  and  having  fruit  fall  into  their  mouths. 

It  is  probable  that  still  other  conditions  favor 
the  development  of  life  in  this  intermediate 
"archibenthal"  zone  which  lies  on  the  border  of 
the  abyssal  or  profoundly  deep  regions.  Many 
of  these  animals  have  been  so  gradually  driven 
from  the  warm,  sunlit  shallows  of  the  littoral 
region  into  the  deeper  waters  that  in  all  prob- 
ability they  find  the  want  of  heat  and  light  no 
drawback  to  their  existence.  In  some  cases  deep 
sea  animals  are  blind,  the  eyes  having  been  re- 
duced to  mere  rudiments  because  they  were  no 
longer  needed;  in  others  the  organs  of  sight  are 
wonderfully  developed,  so  that  they  probably  see 
quite  well  in  a  dim  light.  Many  of  the  forms  of 


334  /N  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

this  region  are  highly  phosphorescent,  and  doubt- 
less in  places  they  are  sufficiently  abundant  on  the 
bottom  to  furnish  enough  light  for  others  to  see. 

It  may  be  wondered  why  in  this  darkness  or 
semi-darkness  there  is  any  rich  coloring  among 
the  animals,  and  the  reason  is  not  clear.  There  is 
much  to  be  learned  about  the  economy  of  color  in 
organic  life.  Some  of  the  more  adventurous  of 
the  littoral  forms  may  have  migrated  slowly  into 
deeper  water  and,  in  other  cases,  animals  of  the 
shallows  unable  to  compete  with  stronger  forms, 
may  have  been  driven  to  where  conditions  are 
more  favorable.  Where  this  migration  has  been 
recent,  color  and  other  shoal  water  characters 
(though  no  longer  needed)  would  still  persist. 
Many  of  these  deep  sea  animals  possess  a  peculiar 
red  which  Alfred  Mayer  says  shows  black  in  the 
depths,  hence  it  may  be  protective.  At  all  events 
the  majority  of  mollusks  we  took  on  the  Pourtales 
Plateau  are  neutral  in  color  scheme,  or  develop 
a  pearly  sheen  probably  protective  in  a  dim  light 
or  feeble  phosphorescent  glow.  The  most  striking 
exception  among  our  catch  is  that  of  the  Volutas — 
but  Voluta  is  a  shallow  water  genus,  and  our  three 
species  are  likely  recent  residents  of  the  darker  zone. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THe  Story  of  tKe  Land  Snails 

THE    land    snails    of    Lower  Florida,   like 
most  of  its  animals  and  plants,  form  a 
mixed    assemblage    of    various    origins. 
A  few  minute  species  are  derived  from 
the  northern  States;  a  considerable  number  pro- 
bably migrated  here  from  the  Texas  region,  and 
perhaps  half  of  our  fifty,  species  had  their  origin 
in  the  American  tropics. 

It  has  been  generally  held  by  biologists  that 
life  originated  in  the  sea,  from  which  it  spread  to 
the  land;  we  have  excellent  support  for  this  theory 
in  our  own  mollusks.  Several  of  our  Littorinidae, 
marine  gastropod  mollusks  with  spiral  shell,  gills 
and  an  "operculum"  or  lid  that  closes  the  aper- 
ture, live,  for  the  most  part,  on  land  near  the  sea. 
One  strictly  gill  breathing  species  (Littorina 
angulifera)  becomes  actually  arboreal  on  the  man- 
335 


336  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

grove  trees,  and  only  occasionally  descends  to  the 
water  to  moisten  itself. 

In  the  warmer  parts  of  the  world  a  great  number 
of  mollusks  have  gone  a  step  farther  (Cyclosto- 
midae  and  allies),  for  they  have  left  the  sea  alto- 
gether, and  though  they  retain  the  operculum  the 
gill  has  become  modified  into  a  sort  of  breathing 
sac  or  lung.  At  least  four  such  species  are  found 
within  the  United  States,  doubtless  derived  from 
the  American  tropics.  Most  of  our  land  snails 
have  become  pulmonates,  that  is  they  breathe 
by  means  of  a  simple  lung,  and  they  have  not  only 
developed  this  from  the  breathing  sac  but  have  in 
almost  all  cases  lost  the  operculum. 

Many  of  our  terrestrial  snails  are  provided  with 
a  remarkable  set  of  calcareous  "teeth"  and  lamel- 
lae in  the  throat  and  aperture  of  the  shell,  and  these, 
doubtless,  serve  to  protect  the  animal  from  attacks 
of  carnivorous  beetles.  In  some  cases  this  forti- 
fication is  amazingly  intricate,  a  veritable  Cretan 
labyrinth,  almost  as  complicated  as  the  lock  of  a 
modern  burglar-proof  safe,  and  one  might  suppose 
that  the  animal  would  sometimes  forget  the  com- 
bination and  be  unable  to  find  its  way  out.  Occa- 
sionally these  "teeth"  are  crowded  close  together 


m 


Polygyra  auriculata,  the  Aperture  Remarkably  Con- 
torted to  Prevent  the  Entrance  of  Predatory 
Beetles 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS    337 

and  extend  almost  to  the  center  of  the  opening,  so 
that  there  are  only  narrow  fissures  left  between 
them,  while  the  sharp-edged  lamellae  are  almost 
as  much  convoluted  as  the  lobes  of  a  brain.  It 
is  interesting  to  watch  one  of  these  creatures 
emerging  to  crawl,  for  it  seems  actually  to  flow  out 
of  the  aperture  as  if  it  were  composed  of  very 
thick  syrup.  The  teeth  and  lamellas  make  deep 
impressions  in  the  body  as  it  moves  out  past 
them,  but  after  getting  by  the  constricted  aper- 
ture the  snail's  body  immediately  resumes  its 
proper  rounded  form. 

That  this  armature  is  developed  to  prevent 
beetles  from  entering  and  devouring  the  animal 
seems  well  proven.  Pilsbry  has  shown  this  by  the 
evidence  furnished  by  two  groups  of  land  snails  of 
the  genus  Pleurodonte  which  inhabit  the  Andean 
region  of  South  America.  One  of  these  groups 
called  Labyrinthus,  on  account  of  the  remarkable 
development  of  teeth  and  lamellae  in  its  aperture 
inhabits  the  hot  lowlands  of  this  area,  where  car- 
nivorous beetles  are  abundant.  The  other  and 
nearly  related  group  (Isomeria)  of  the  same  genus 
is  found  only  on  the  mountains  where  beetles  are 
few.  Their  shells  have  only  rudimentary  teeth 


338  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

and  lamellae.  There  is  evidence  to  show  Isomeria 
has  developed  from  Labyrinthus.  The  aperture 
armature  being  no  longer  needed  became  dwarfed 
or  rudimentary,  or  even  wholly  absent. 

The  land  snails  of  the  Northern  States  live  on 
the  ground,  usually  under  leaves,  stones,  or  logs, 
but  in  tropical  and  semi-tropical  countries  some 
of  them  are  strictly  arboreal  and  many  others  are 
partly  so.  In  the  pine  woods  of  southeastern  Flor- 
ida several  species  hide  under  the  rocks  during  the 
dry  season,  and  often  crawl  a  short  distance  up 
the  trunks  of  the  trees  in  wet  weather.  Along  the 
sandy  land  of  the  outer  beaches  two  forms  are 
abundant  which,  during  the  rainy  season,  climb 
up  the  low  scrub.  One  of  these  is  a  Cerion,  with 
a  cylindrical  white  shell  which  was  probably 
derived  from  the  Bahamas.  Several  years  ago 
I  was  at  the  shore  near  the  head  of  Biscayne  Bay 
where  I  found  dead  shells  of  this  species  in  great 
numbers,  but  no  living  ones.  I  searched  in  vain 
the  bushes  and  grass.  Finally  I  stumbled  over  a 
tussock  of  dead  grass  overturning  it,  and  among 
its  roots  were  hidden  hundreds  of  the  little  fellows. 
As  the  weather  was  quite  cold  they  had  doubtless 
hidden  in  these  half  buried  roots  for  protection. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS   339 

We  have  a  Euglandina,  with  a  somewhat  elon- 
gated form,  which  in  northern  Florida  attains  a 
length  of  three  inches;  the  shell  is  a  beautiful  rose 
color.  It  is  wholly  carnivorous  and  a  most  aggres- 
sive mollusk.  It  attacks,  kills,  and  eats  any  ground 
snails  it  meets,  and  if  it  cannot  get  anything  else 
it  will  devour  its  own  species, — an  out  and  out 
cannibal. 

Two  species  of  Oxystyla  (0.  reses  and  0.  flori- 
densis)  are  found  in  the  extreme  lower  part  of  our 
State,  and  they  are  among  our  largest  and  finest 
land  snails.  Both  are  strictly  arboreal,  the  latter 
often  having  a  shell  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter 
and  two  and  a  half  in  length.  I  have  never  seen 
quite  so  large  specimens  of  the  former,  which  is 
much  the  rarer  of  the  two,  and  is  confined  to  the 
lower  part  of  the  Florida  Keys.  Both  have  glossy 
shells  with  a  whitish  ground  and  brown  markings. 
Three  species  of  Liguus  belong  within  our  territory, 
and  they  have  shells  almost  as  large  as  the  Oxy- 
stylas ;  in  fact  occasional  specimens  reach  a  length 
of  two  and  three  quarter  inches,  but  they  lack  in 
diameter. 

Some  of  the  shells  of  our  Florida  Liguus  are 
among  the  most  beautiful  and  richly  painted  of 


340  IN  LOWER.  FLORIDA  WILDS 

any  in  the  world.  For  the  most  part  they  are 
perfectly  smooth  and  glossy,  looking  as  if  freshly 
varnished,  or  like  finely  painted  porcelain.  In  the 
following  list  of  their  principal  color  schemes  it 
must  be  understood  that  "revolving  bands"  are 
belts  of  color  that  spirally  follow  the  growth  of 
the  shell  from  its  apex  to  the  aperture. 

Pure  white  or  whitish  throughout. 

White  with  brilliant  green,  revolving  bands,  usu- 
ally narrow  but  rarely  very  broad. 

White  with  bronze,  or  brown,  or  brown  and  green 
revolving  bands. 

White  with  yellow,  orange,  or,  orange  and  brown 
revolving  lines  and  bands. 

White  with  broad,  very  dark  brown,  or  black 
bands,  the  upper  sides  of  which  may  be  richly 
flamed. 

Purplish  white  with  brownish  or  rose  colored  bands 
and  markings. 

White  with  narrow  green  and  broad  orange  revolv- 
ing bands. 

Rich  rose,  variously  marked  with  darker  color. 

Yellow,  from  straw  color  to  deep  gold,  sometimes 
shaded  a  peculiar  brown. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS    341 

Yellow  variously  banded  with  green,  bronze,  or 

brown. 
Orange  to  orange  scarlet,  becoming  darker  at  the 

aperture. 
Dark  brown  to  almost  black,  sometimes  blotched 

with  yellow  or  white. 
Black  or  very  dark  brown,  almost  uniform  color. 

On  the  Lower  Keys  there  is  a  form  with  yellow 
ground  and  a  brown  revolving  band,  also  a  broken 
band  and  flames  of  bluish.  From  Miami  southward 
there  is  a  race  of  Liguus  with  such  remarkably 
varied  patterns  I  am  unable  to  describe  it.  The 
ground  color  may  be  golden  through  a  number  of 
shades  to  purplish  brown.  This  is  often  banded 
with  very  dark  brown,  or  it  may  have  a  wide  semi- 
transparent  belt  which  seems  to  be  laid  over  the 
other  colors.  In  places  this  has  a  greenish  tint, 
in  others  it  is  more  nearly  blue.  The  whole  shell 
has  irregular  vertical  or  sub-vertical  markings, 
flames  and  zigzags  of  whitish  yellow  or  some  shade 
of  pale  brown  and  there  may  be  narrow,  revolving 
brown  lines.  A  handful  of  these  beauties  is  simply 
stunning,  the  assemblage  of  color  is  almost  un- 
believable. Among  these  chief  color  patterns 


34a  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

there  may  be  infinite  variety,  the  result  in  most 
cases  of  hybridization.  Some  of  these  interme- 
diates seem  to  be  crosses  between  half  a  dozen 
different  forms  and  having  imperfect  color  features 
of  all. 

One  wonders  why  these  shells  are  so  richly 
painted,  for  evidently  this  brilliant  color  must  be 
a  decided  disadvantage,  if  not  actually  disastrous. 
I  have  seen  thousands  of  fresh  dead  shells  lying  on 
the  ground  which  had  been  broken  by  the  beaks 
of  birds  for  the  succulent  animal  within.  Usually 
these  were  the  more  brightly  colored  specimens; 
rarely  have  I  seen  a  dark,  dull  colored  shell  broken 
in  this  way,  thus  proving  that  death  loves  a 
shining  mark.  This  apparently  is  an  argument 
in  favor  of  protective  mimicry.  The  birds  see  the 
bright  snails  and  destroy  them;  they  do  not  see 
the  dull  colored  ones.  Do  the  brilliantly  colored 
snails  rely  on  their  shells  for  protection  only  to  be 
deceived? 

Even  to  one  of  no  especial  interest  in  natural 
history  the  sight  of  large,  handsome  arboreal 
snails  clinging  to  the  trunks  or  branches  of  trees  is 
startling,  but  to  the  enthusiastic  conchologist  it  is 
simply  thrilling;  it  fairly  turns  his  head.  At  the 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS    343 

time  of  my  first  visit  to  Jamaica,  Henderson  and  I 
were  driving  out  from  Kingston  in  order  to  have 
our  first  look  about  and  possibly  to  do  a  little 
collecting.  In  passing  a  low  scrub  forest  we  saw  a 
specimen  of  the  fine  Oxystyla  undata  attached  to  a 
limb  of  a  near-by  tree.  We  both  shouted,  and  in  a 
second  had  jumped  from  the  vehicle  and  were 
racing  toward  it.  We  rushed  through  a  hedge  of 
villainous  pinguin  plants  and  up  the  tree;  securing 
the  prize;  we  discovered  the  tangle  of  thorny  scrub 
woods  were  full  of  them.  In  half  an  hour  we  had 
two  hundred  fine  specimens.  We  had  made  a 
fair  and  satisfactory  exchange — two  perfectly  good 
suits  of  clothes  ruined  for  the  Oxystylas. 

In  the  late  summer  and  fall  these  snails  lay 
their  eggs,  which  are  elliptical,  about  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  long,  and  have  a  calcareous  shell.  They 
come  down  from  the  trees  to  deposit  these  eggs 
in  the  ground,  under  leaves  or  even  in  decaying 
wood  on  the  floor  of  the  hammock.  After  the 
laying  period  many  of  the  animals  die.  In  late 
autumn  the  ground  is  sometimes  strewed  with 
fresh,  dead  shells  of  both  Oxystyla  and  Liguus. 
In  spring  the  eggs  hatch  and  the  little  snails 
at  once  ascend  the  trunks  of  trees,  where  they 


344  IK  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

live  on  the  minute  algae  and  fungi.  During 
the  cool,  dry  part  of  the  year  they  remain  dor- 
mant; "aestivate"  as  it  is  called.  This  is  analo- 
gous to  the  hibernation  of  various  animals  in  our 
northern  winters,  though  it  is  probable  that  dur- 
ing aestivation  in  the  tropics  the  vital  functions 
do  not  so  nearly  cease  as  in  the  winter  sleep  of  the 
colder  parts  of  the  world.  The  Liguus  and  Oxy- 
stylas  exude  from  the  mantle  a  mucus  which  hard- 
ens like  glue  and  attaches  the  aperture  so  firmly 
to  the  trees  that  the  shell  will  often  break  when  one 
roughly  attempts  to  remove  it.  Sometimes  dur- 
ing warm,  damp  weather  in  winter  the  awakened 
Liguus  partially  dissolve  this  epiphragm,  as  it  is 
called,  and  become  for  a  time  active,  but  when  it 
turns  cool  and  dry  again  they  resume  aestivation. 
In  many  cases  the  Liguus  pass  their  inactive  period 
on  trunks  or  limbs  of  trees  in  open  sight,  but  they 
generally  seek  to  hide  away  in  crevices  or  under 
the  loose  bark.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  Oxy- 
stylas,  and  sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  will  be 
found  huddled  together  on  the  inside  of  a  hollow 
tree. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  rainy  season,  or  a 
little  before,  the  tree  snails  become  active  and  the 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS    345 

shell  grows  rapidly,  the  first  growth  being  thin  and 
transparent.  At  the  close  of  the  rains  the  Oxy- 
stylas  form  a  dark  border  around  the  mouth  of  the 
shell,  but  the  Liguus  rarely  and  then  to  a  much 
less  extent.  The  first  season's  growth  may  con- 
sist of  from  four  to  six  turns  or  whorls,  the  second 
of  perhaps  a  little  less  than  one  whorl,  and  after 
that  the  growths  are  short.  By  counting  these 
rest  marks  it  is  possible  to  guess  at  the  age  of  the 
snail,  which  under  favorable  circumstances  prob- 
ably lives  four  or  five  years. 

All  our  Liguus  and  Oxystylas  are  derived  from 
the  American  tropics,  the  former  from  Cuba,  and 
the  latter,  no  doubt,  from  a  species  of  rather  wide 
Antillean  and  tropical  American  distribution.  In 
another  chapter  I  have  given  reasons  for  believing 
that  there  has  been  no  land  passage  between  Cuba 
and  Florida  since  the  present  life  has  existed.  So 
far  as  we  know  the  animals  and  eggs  of  these  tree 
snails  sink  in  salt  water,  and  it  is  hardly  possible 
that  birds  or  hurricanes  could  have  transported 
them.  But  in  some  way  they  must  have  made  a 
considerable  sea  voyage,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  have  accomplished  this  is  of  great  interest. 
These  and  other  tropical  snails  must  have  been 


346  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

transported  by  floating  material;  probably  on  the 
very  trees  which  were  their  homes,  in  bamboos  or 
as  eggs  in  old  or  decaying  logs. 

Throughout  the  American  tropics  the  giant 
bamboo  (Bambusa  vulgaris)  grows  abundantly, 
especially  along  streams.  During  times  of  flood 
great  masses  of  it  are  often  washed  out  and  carried 
down  by  the  current  to  be  stranded  along  the 
valleys.  After  lying  awhile  the  upper,  thin-walled 
joints  begin  to  decay  and  split  up.  The  ground 
snails  like  to  hide  in  cool,  moist,  dark  places,  so 
these  dead  bamboos  become  their  favorite  resort. 
C.  B.  Adams,  who  collected  extensively  in  Jamaica, 
states  that  he  found  quantities  of  them  in  these 
upper  joints.  Perhaps  during  the  next  or  a  sub- 
sequent rainy  season  some  of  these  prostrate  bam- 
boos are  again  washed  away  and  carried  out  to 
\  sea,  bearing  their  cargo  of  living  snails.  The 
heavier  mass  of  fibrous  roots  holds  a  large  amount 
of  earth  and  stones  which  tend  to  sink  the  whole, 
but  the  thick-walled  lower  joints  are  still  air  tight 
and  sustain  the  entire  clump.  I  once  saw  in  a 
small  bay  on  the  north  side  of  Jamaica  a  number 
of  these  great  bamboos  floating  in  the  water. 
There  had  been  a  torrential  rain,  and  they  evidently 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS    347 

had  been  swept  down  a  much  swollen  stream  into 
the  bay.  Their  stems  were  standing  almost  erect, 
and  they  could  have  easily  carried  for  thousands 
of  miles  a  cargo  of  living  snails  at  a  safe  height  of 
five  to  twenty  feet  above  the  sea. 

It  is  easy  to  believe  that  decaying  logs  in  tropi- 
cal forests  might  be  a  means  of  dispersing  mol- 
lusks.  Some  of  the  ground  snails  live  on  such 
logs,  and  arboreal  species  as  already  stated  lay 
their  eggs  in  their  crumbling  surfaces.  These 
logs  are  washed  out  in  time  of  violent  rains  and 
carried  out  to  sea  like  the  bamboos.  Living  trees 
too  with  snails  attached  are  torn  out  and  swept 
seaward  by  the  same  means.  From  Cape  Saint 
Roque  to  well  up  in  the  Caribbean  the  sea  in  many 
places  is  eating  constantly  into  the  alluvial  shore 
and  undermining  thousands  of  acres  of  virgin  for- 
est. I  have  seen  such  timber  being  so  undermined 
along  the  Honduras  coast.  Every  hard  storm 
would  loosen  a  number  of  these  and  set  them 
adrift.  Through  a  long  voyage  some  limbs  might 
remain  entirely  out  of  water  or  only  be  occasionally 
immersed.  Darwin  states  that  he  placed  several 
species  of  land  snails  in  sea  water  for  seven  days 
and  that  they  suffered  no  injury  whatever.  On  one 


348  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

occasion  I  immersed  a  lot  of  Liguus  in  fresh  water 
and  after  they  had  been  kept  beneath  the  surface 
for  thirty  hours  I  found  nearly  all  were  alive  and 
able  to  crawl  away  as  though  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. Some  of  them  remained  attached  to  the 
pieces  of  wood  to  which  they  clung  when  put  in 
during  the  entire  immersion. 

Suppose  that  decaying  logs,  bamboos  or  living 
trees  bearing  snails  or  their  eggs  were  thus  carried 
out  to  sea  from  Cuba  or  other  West  Indian  islands 
into  the  Gulf  Stream ;  that  after  a  voyage  of  some 
weeks  or  even  months  the  whole  were  cast  high 
and  dry  on  the  Florida  Keys  or  the  southeast 
coast  of  our  State,  there  would  be  absolutely  noth- 
ing to  prevent  them  from  crawling  off  the  packet 
on  which  they  took  passage  and  establishing  them- 
selves as  immigrants  into  the  United  States. 
There  would  be  no  custom  house  or  need  for 
naturalization  papers. 

Floating  islands  consisting  of  vegetation  in  large 
masses  are  carried  to  sea  by  tropical  rivers.  Such 
islands  have  been  seen  in  the  Atlantic  as  far  north 
as  Nova  Scotia,  and  these  undoubtedly  carry  land 
snails  or  their  eggs.  It  may  be  urged  that  such 
a  combination  of  favorable  circumstances  could 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS   349 

but  very  rarely  occur,  but  time  is  long  and  snails 
are  patient,  and  what  might  not  happen  to-day  or 
this  year  or  this  century  might  take  place  a  good 
many  times  in  ten  or  twenty  thousand  years. 
There  are  certain  keys  in  Lower  Florida  where  all 
the  conditions  seem  perfectly  fit  for  Liguus,  but 
the  most  careful  search  does  not  discover  any 
trace  or  sign  of  them;  it  is  probable  that  these 
snails  were  never  landed  on  their  shores  in  such 
manner  that  they  could  become  established. 

Having  once  become  colonized  on  the  keys  or 
in  some  hammock  near  the  shore  on  the  mainland 
it  is  of  interest  to  know  how  the  snails  pass  from 
one  island  to  another  or  from  hammock  to  ham- 
mock. Mr.  Charles  Mosier,  who  has  lived  for 
several  years  on  Paradise  Key  in  the  Everglades 
and  who  has  had  exceptional  opportunities  for 
studying  the  Liguus,  tells  me  that  he  has  seen 
crows  carrying  them  in  their  beaks  during  flight 
with  intention  no  doubt  of  eating  them.  One 
of  these  with  eggs  dropped  on  an  island  or  in  a 
hammock  would  most  likely  start  a  new  colony. 
Hurricanes  might  also  account  for  much  local 
dispersal. 

The  arboreal  snails  live  in  the  hammocks  be- 


350  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

cause  in  them  there  is  shade,  moisture,  an  abun- 
dance of  food  and  opportunity  to  conceal  them- 
selves. These  are  lacking  in  the  pine  woods,  and 
even  if  conditions  were  favorable  the  frequent  for- 
est fires  would  destroy  them.  I  have  seen  Liguus 
crawling  through  the  pine  lands  on  several  occa- 
sions during  wet  weather  and  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  any  hammock.  I  have  also  seen 
specimens  crawling  directly  away  from  my  own 
little  hammock  out  into  the  pine  forest!  Once 
while  raining  heavily  I  found  a  Liguus  crawling 
on  the  ground  among  the  pine  trees  more  than  a 
hundred  feet  from  a  hammock.  I  marked  the 
spot  and  the  next  day,  which  was  fair,  it  had 
crawled  on  several  feet,  climbed  a  weed  and  was 
apparently  inactive.  Again  I  marked  its  location 
and  the  following  day,  which  was  rainy,  I  found  it 
fully  twenty-five  feet  farther  on  and  away  from 
the  hammock.  At  another  time  I  found  a  Liguus 
beside  an  abandoned  road  in  the  pine  woods  and 
marked  its  position.  In  half  an  hour  it  had  crossed 
the  road,  a  distance  of  eight  feet,  which  is  not  bad 
going  for  a  snail.  In  the  course  of  a  rainy  season 
then  a  Liguus  could  cover  the  distance  between 
two  quite  widely  separate  hammocks.  Of  course 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  LAND  SNAILS    351 

many,  if  not  most,  of  these  migrants  are  destroyed 
by  enemies  while  on  the  march,  and  the  majority 
escaping  such  an  end  fail  to  find  any  hammock  and 
perish;  but  in  the  course  of  time  some — even  but 
one — must  reach  the  goal.  Thus  they  have  crossed 
easily  an  open  space  in  my  grounds  (formerly  pine 
land)  and  become  completely  established  among 
my  cultivated  trees  a  hundred  feet  from  my  ham- 
mock. Dr.  Hiram  Byrd  informs  me  that  when  he 
bought  his  place  in  Lower  Bade  County  there  were 
Liguus  on  the  citrus  and  other  trees  about  his 
house  which  presumably  had  come  from  a  ham- 
mock a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 

There  is  something  very  courageous  about  these 
little  fellows  who  leave  their  sheltered  homes, 
their  food,  and  companions  and  set  forth  to  wander 
in  the  hostile  pine  woods  in  an  effort  to  find  a  new 
hammock.  They  forsake  all  and  risk  all  in 
answering  the  call  of  one  of  the  strongest  animal 
instincts — the  founding  of  new  colonies,  the  ex- 
tension of  their  race. 

Cuba  has  been  occupied  from  one  end  to  the 
other  with  handsome  Liguus,  though  it  is  probable 
that  none  of  them  equal  some  of  our  forms  in  vivid 
coloring.  Our  entire  stock  has  doubtless  been 


352  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

derived  from  that  island  and  is  the  result  of  num- 
erous migrations.  Several  of  our  varieties  show 
close  relation  to  certain  ones  of  Cuba  but  some 
of  ours  seem  very  distinct  from  any  Cuban  forms. 
The  doom  of  our  beautiful  arboreal  snails  is 
undoubtedly  sealed,  for  everywhere  in  our  region 
the  hammocks  are  being  rapidly  destroyed  by 
man.  The  building  of  the  railroad  over  the  Keys 
has  hastened  their  destruction  and  the  Liguus  and 
Oxystylas  once  so  abundant  there  are  now  almost 
extinct.  The  very  presence  of  the  white  man 
seems  fatal  to  them  and  they  fade  away  before 
him  as  most  savage  races  have  done. 


Liguus  fasciatus  Varieties.     Mstivating  on  Trunk  of  Jamaica  Dogwood 

(Ichthyomethia   piscipula).    There  are   Two    Forms    Here,   One 

Whitish,  Banded  with  Brown,  the  Other  Nearly  All  Dark, 

Reddish  Brown.     Long  Key,  Everglades 

Photo  by  Dr.  John  K.   Small 


CHAPTER  XVII 

The  Beauty  of  the  Nig'Ht 

THE  night  to  many  is  merely  a  period  of 
darkness,  a  cessation  from  labor,  an 
opportunity  to  sleep.  To  the  naturalist 
it  is  a  time  when  nature  reveals  some 
of  her  closest  secrets,  when  she  displays  many 
charms  withheld  from  the  light  of  day.  There  is 
a  nerve  tension  approaching  exaltation  produced 
by  the  tropic  darkness,  by  the  atmosphere  of 
vagueness  and  uncertainty  and  by  familiar  objects 
bewitched  into  fantastic  forms.  To  walk  in  one's 
grounds  at  night  is  to  discover  a  new  world;  the 
trees  are  larger,  their  forms  have  changed  and 
their  well-known  branches  are  shapeless  blots 
against  the  sky.  Unexpected  noises  startle  and 
almost  terrify  one.  The  day  birds  have  gone  to 
rest  and  a  new  and  different  set  have  taken  their 
places,  as  if  Nature  were  working  her  employees 
in  shifts.  We  may  not  see  them  bu.t  we  are  aware 
of  their  presence. 

33  353 


354  IM  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

The  night  is  peopled  by  busy  little  folk  as 
intently  carrying  on  their  loves  and  labors  as  are 
those  of  the  day.  In  February  or  March  the 
chuck- will's- widow  (Antrostomus  carolinensis) 
appears,  at  first  sparingly,  but  later  abundantly. 
From  early  twilight  until  sunrise,  rarely  after, 
the  males  pour  out  their  discordant  song.  I  know 
no  bird  so  earnest  about  securing  a  mate;  hence 
their  terrible  clatter.  They  are  like  those  who  use 
many  repetitions  in  their  prayers  that  they  may 
be  heard  for  much  speaking.  One  of  these  birds 
will  repeat  his  "chuck- will's- widow"  at  a  mod- 
erate rate  for  a  long  time  and  end  by  calling  it  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  then  for  a  little  while  he  must 
cease  from  sheer  exhaustion.  One  would  think 
the  female  would  capitulate  rather  than  listen  to 
such  singing. 

This  bird  almost  entirely  replaces  here  the  much 
pleasanter  voiced  whippoorwill  of  the  north. 
Those  who  have  lived  here  a  long  time  and  watched 
the  birds  closely  tell  me  they  have  never  heard  the 
whippoorwill,  but  it  does  in  fact  inhabit  our  part 
of  the  country.  Once  or  twice  a  season  I  catch  its 
lonely,  plaintive  call.  The  night  hawk  (Chor- 
deiles  virginianus)  is  not  at  all  rare.  When  wan- 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT         355 

dering  about  in  the  darkness  one  of  these  birds 
may  swoop  down  in  its  chase  after  moths  and  utter 
its  loud,  discordant ' '  peent. "  It  is  quite  enough  to 
make  one's  hair  stand  on  end.  Rarely  the  screech 
owl  (Otus  asio)  pours  out  its  long  wavering  trill, 
which  like  the  notes  of  most  owls  is  decidedly 
mournful.  Around  old  or  abandoned  buildings 
one  may  occasionally  hear  the  squawk  of  a  barn 
owl  (Aluco  pratincola)  or  possibly  catch  a  glimpse 
of  him  as  he  flits  noiselessly  by  hunting  hife  prey. 

The  frogs  are  much  in  evidence  at  night  and 
their  cries  are  always  welcome  to  him  whose  ear  is 
attuned  to  the  voices  of  nature,  but  their  notes  are 
not  melodious.  In  his  delightful  Natural  His- 
tory of  Selbourne  Gilbert  White  says:  "Sounds 
do  not  always  give  us  pleasure  according  to  their 
sweetness  and  melody ;  nor  do  harsh  sounds  always 
displease.  We  are  more  apt  to  be  captivated  or 
disgusted  with  the  associations  which  they  pro- 
mote, than  with  the  notes  themselves.  Thus  the 
shrilling  of  the  field  cricket  though  sharp  and 
stridulous,  yet  marvelously  delights  some  hearers, 
filling  their  minds  with  a  train  of  summer  ideas  of 
everything  that  is  rural,  verdurous,  and  joyous." 

In  the  north  frog  music  is  one  of  the  earliest  and 


356  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

most  delightful  harbingers  of  spring,  that  of  some 
species  beginning  before  the  ice  is  fairly  melted 
from  the  streams  and  ponds ;  little  of  it  is  heard  in 
mid-summer.  Here  such  music  is  rare  in  the  dry 
spring  months  but  as  soon  as  the  early  summer 
rains  flood  the  low  places  the  nights  resound  with 
frog  music,  and  the  clacking,  snoring,  screaming, 
and  gurgling  are  heard  from  dusk  to  dawn.  One 
cannot  listen  to  these  little  songsters  without  feel- 
ing that  they  are  intensely  happy  as  no  doubt  they 
are. 

Now  and  then  the  deep  voice  of  the  bullfrog 
(Rana  catesbyana)  is  heard,  a  voice  of  such  power 
that  it  sometimes  carries  for  miles.  To  me  its 
note,  uttered  at  intervals  sounds  like  "o-onk, 
o-onk,"  while  to  others  it  is  variously  interpreted 
as  "br'wum,"  "be  drowned,"  or  "more  rum."  It 
is  probable  that  its  note  varies  a  little  in  different 
localities  (it  has  an  immense  range  in  the  United 
States),  and  as  animals  do  not  have  the  power  of 
articulating  sounds  distinctly  their  notes  sound 
differently  to  different  hearers.  This  song — for- 
give the  term — is  a  sort  of  tremendous  musical 
grunt,  impressing  one  with  the  idea  of  unlimited 
lung  power.  No  wonder  that  its  voice  is  powerful 


Oxysiyla  floridensis  .35stivating  in  Hollow  Tree.      In  Such  a  Location 

they  are  Comparatively  Safe  from  All  Enemies. 

Hammock  near  Flamingo 

Photo  by  Dr.  John  K.  Small 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT         357 

for  the  creature  attains  a  length  of  eight  inches 
and  is  very  massive.  There  are  probably  two 
other  Ranas  which  help  to  make  up  this  summer 
chorus  in  Lower  Florida,  one  of  them  being  a  form 
of  the  common,  widely  distributed  green  frog 
(Rana  virescens)  the  note  of  which  consists  of  a 
single  syllable  repeated  several  times,  a  sort  of 
"chock,  chock." 

In  all  probability  a  part  in  this  chorus  is  sung  by 
an  animal  that  is  neither  frog  nor  toad  but  a  sort 
of  intermediate  (Scaphiopus  holbrooki).  It  is 
widely  distributed  in  the  Eastern  and  Southern 
States  and  usually  inhabits  temporary  pools 
formed  by  heavy  rains.  It  utters  exceedingly 
clear  sharp  silvery  peeps  in  rapid  succession  when- 
ever it  is  disturbed.  Abbott  says  of  this  wonder- 
ful musician:  "The  machinery  for  producing 
sounds  is  equal  to  an  ordinary  steam  whistle  and 
is  apparently  confined  to  the  throat."  The  notes 
are  so  strong  and  clear  that  they  may  be  heard 
from  a  train  as  it  rushes  by,  and  one  is  inclined  to 
believe  it  to  be  the  song  of  some  bird.* 

Some  of  the  music  of  this  nocturnal  serenade 
may  be  produced  by  the  tree  frogs.  In  the  great 
chorus  I  have  sometimes  distinguished  as  many  as 


358  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

seven  or  eight  different  calls,  though  it  is  difficult 
to  separate  and  identify  them.  In  the  brackish 
swamp  I  have  occasionally  heard  at  night  a 
contralto  frog  note  which  sounds  to  me  like 
"gul,  gul,  gul;  gul  guggle,  gul  guggle"  slowly 
repeated  several  times.  I  know  of  no  sweeter, 
more  charming  sound  in  all  nature  than  the  song 
of  this  frog,  and  it  must  be  a  stony  hearted  female 
that  would  be  deaf  to  it.  I  have  only  heard  it  a 
few  times  and  it's  author  is  so  shy  I  have  never 
been  able  to  discover  him,  nor  can  I  learn  its 
name  though  it  is  probably  a  Hyla.  Whoever 
has  the  opportunity  of  hearing  this  low  sweet  call 
may  consider  himself  fortunate. 

One  of  the  agreeable  notes  in  the  frog  concert 
is  the  long-drawn  and,  to  me,  musical  "mr-r-r-r-r-r" 
or  "mree-e-e-e-e"  of  a  variety  of  the  common 
toad  (Bufo  lentiginosus).  One  cannot  help  won- 
dering how  so  homely  a  creature  can  have  such  a 
delightful  song.  In  fact  the  whole  medley  of  this 
batrachian  symphony  is,  to  the  real  lover  of  nature, 
charming  and  thrilling. 

During  the  late  winter  and  early  spring  the  fire- 
flies, those  stars  of  the  fields,  are  very  abundant 
in  our  hammocks  and  low  grounds.  Our  com- 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT 


359 


monest  species  is  probably  one  of  wide  range  in 
the  United  States  (Photinus  ardens),  being  found 
as  far  north  as  Indiana.  In  its  case  both  names 
are  very  appropriate.  "Photinus"  means  shin- 
ing and  "ardens"  to  glow  or  burn,  so  this  little 
insect  gets  a  good  advertisement  with  each  name. 
It  is  a  slender,  brown  beetle,  the  elytra  or  wing 
covers  being  bordered  with  dull  buff  and  the 
shield  of  the  thorax  extends  forward  so  that  look- 
ing at  it  from  above  the  head  is  entirely  covered 
as  by  an  umbrella.  The  light-giving  apparatus  is 
located  in  two  segments  of  the  abdomen  and  is 
composed  of  fatty  tissue,  whjch  is  burnt  without 
sensible  heat,  at  the  time  of  showing  the  light,  the 
process  being  controlled  by  the  will  of  the  insect. 
In  the  male  the  light  organs  are  more  strongly 
developed  than  in  the  female,  and  the  larvae,  which 
are  found  in  damp  places,  also  emit  a  feeble  light. 
Kirby  and  Spence  believed  that  this  light  is  used 
to  frighten  enemies  and  others  claim  that  it  is  a 
sex  signal  or  perhaps  displayed  in  rivalry  among 
the  males,  but  we  probably  do  not  understand  its 
full  significance. 

In  this  species  the  flare  is  often  slightly  greenish 
but  sometimes  it  is  red  or  yellowish,  varying  some- 


36o  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

what  in  different  individuals.  Occasionally  one 
shines  out  like  a  star  of  the  first  magnitude  or  a 
Venus  among  the  planets.  About  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  after  sunset  they  suddenly  appear  and  the 
hammocks  and  lowlands  twinkle  with  their  little 
lanterns,  but  in  an  hour  the  illumination  is  mostly 
over  and  in  another  hour  scarcely  one  is  seen. 
After  this  at  long  intervals  one  individual  may 
show  its  light  and  may  be  seen  even  during  the 
dawn  like  some  late  reveler  returning  home  from 
a  debauch.  The  effect  of  their  brilliant  flashes  in 
the  dense,  dark  hammock  is  startling  and  uncanny. 
The  land  crabs  (Cardisoma  guanhumi}  though 
already  mentioned  deserve  further  comment  here 
for  they  are  especially  active  at  night.  They  are 
most  abundant  on  low  ground  near  salt  water. 
Their  metropolis  is  in  the  West  Indies  but  they  are 
well  established  along  the  Florida  coast  from  the 
vicinity  of  Palm  Beach  to  Cape  Sable.  Here  they 
occasionally  attain  a  spread  of  eighteen  inches  from 
tip  to  tip  of  the  claws  though  they  reach  a  little 
more  than  that  in  Cuba.  Most  of  them  are  a  dirty 
blue;  sometimes  one  is  seen  with  a  greenish  or 
yellowish  cast  and  rarely  they  are  red  and  violet. 
They  dig  holes  in  which  they  live  in  low  ground, 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT        361 

often  going  down  below  the  surface  of  standing 
water.  When  these  are  abandoned  they  make 
the  finest  kind  of  breeding  places  for  mosquitoes. 
During  the  rainy  season,  from  May  to  October, 
they  go  out  into  the  hammocks  and  pinelands, 
often  a  long  way  from  the  sea,  living  then  under 
rocks  or  in  hollows  beneath  the  roots  of  trees.  In 
wet  weather  they  become  diurnal  and  swarm  out 
over  the  dry  land  even  into  buildings  which  are  but 
little  elevated  above  ground.  They  climb  up  the 
corners  of  rooms  and  get  on  beds  and  tables  but 
the  statement  made  by  settlers  that  they  occa- 
sionally play  the  piano  may  be  considered  a  play- 
ful exaggeration.  They  climb  leaning  or  rough 
barked  trees  to  a  considerable  height  and  are  very 
destructive  to  cultivated  plants,  shredding  out 
their  leaves  with  their  claws  and  even  tearing 
down  large  banana  stalks.  In  every  case  where 
cultivated  plants  are  mixed  with  wild  ones  they 
make  their  assaults  on  the  former.  I  am  positive 
they  can  tell  a  five-dollar  exotic  from  one  which 
cost  a  half  a  dollar,  for  they  always  destroy  the 
more  valuable  one. 

Their  appearance  is  half  repulsive  and  there  is 
about  them  an  air  of  impudence;  they  exemplify 


362  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

the  word  "cheek"  to  an  astonishing  degree,  yet 
they  are  very  comical  and  ludicrous.  I  was  once 
at  the  beach  opposite  Lemon  City  with  a  party  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  a  plunge  in  the  surf.  We 
changed  clothes  at  the  edge  of  the  mangrove 
swamp  and  the  mud  being  firm  and  dry  we  left 
our  things  lying  on  the  ground.  When  we  started 
to  dress  my  socks  were  missing  and  after  some 
search  I  found  them  both  dragged  into  a  near-by 
crab  hole.  One  of  them  was  just  disappearing 
and  in  dragging  it  out  I  lost  my  elastic  garter  in 
the  hole.  One  sleeve  of  my  shirt  was  pulled  into 
one  hole  and  the  other  into  one  next  to  it  and  the 
rim  of  my  felt  hat  had  been  drawn  into  still 
another.  One  of  my  companions  had  a  shoe 
dragged  partly  in  and  he  failed  to  retrieve  a  sock 
and  both  elastics.  It  might  be  supposed  the 
crabs  wanted  these  articles  for  nests  but  as  their 
bodies  and  claws  are  very  hard  they  certainly 
could  have  no  use  for  a  bed.  I  have  dug  into  a 
good  many  of  these  burrows  which  slope  slightly 
and  are  somewhat  enlarged  at  the  lower  end,  but 
have  found  no  bedding  so  I  am  led  to  believe  that 
our  clothes  were  stolen  out  of  "pure  cussedness." 
One  claw  or  arm  is  greatly  developed  while  the 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT         363 

other  is  dwarfed,  and  the  great  one  may  be  either 
right  or  left.  If  molested  they  usually  try  to 
escape  but  when  once  cornered  they  pinch  severely 
with  the  large  claw.  While  the  victim  is  writhing 
in  pain  the  crab  wrenches  his  whole  arm  loose  and 
escapes.  Sometimes  when  suddenly  surprised 
they  seem  to  become  dazed  and  lose  all  power  of 
offense  or  of  retreat.  At  such  times  I  have  seen 
them  stop  short,  apparently  helpless,  and  allow 
themselves  to  be  picked  up  even  though  within 
a  few  inches  of  a  hole  or  other  good  place  of  con- 
cealment. It  has  been  asserted  that  when  the 
great  arm  is  lost  the  small  one  begins  to  increase 
and  eventually  becomes  the  large  one,  but  I  doubt 
this.  A  minute  claw  grows  from  the  socket  of  the 
great  arm  as  soon  as  it  is  torn  off,  and  it  probably 
continues  to  increase  to  full  size  while  the  other 
remains  as  before.  On  summer  nights  their  rust- 
ling and  clattering  is  always  to  be  heard  in  the 
hammocks  and  lowland  and  if  one  will  watch 
quietly  he  will  likely  see  a  raccoon  glide  across 
some  open  space  with  one  of  them  in  his  mouth,  for 
"Brer  Coon "  is  their  mortal  enemy,  catching  them 
in  great  numbers  and  cleaning  out  the  last  morsel 
of  flesh  from  their  carapaces. 


364  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

Here  along  the  edge  of  the  hammock  the  moon- 
flowers  (Ipomcea  bona-nox)  have  climbed  to  the 
very  tops  of  the  tallest  trees,  forming  a  mantle  of 
soft,  luxuriant,  cordate  foliage.  Sometimes  a  few 
flowers  open  before  sunset  but  most  of  them  bloom 
just  as  dusk  is  coming  on.  The  great  disk-like 
corolla  is  fully  five  inches  across  and  the  length 
of  the  whole  flower  is  about  seven  inches.  The 
twisted  buds  gradually  unfold  and  become  inflated, 
then  they  suddenly  expand,  much  like  the  opening 
of  an  umbrella.  If  a  puff  of  wind  sweeps  over  them 
hundreds  burst  out  at  once  as  if  touched  by  a 
magician's  wand,  and  the  effect  of  such  a  sudden 
display  of  loveliness  is  indescribable.  All  through 
the  night  they  spread  their  glorious  white  salvers 
to  the  darkness,  or  perhaps  to  the  moonlight,  and 
then  at  sunrise  they  close  up  and  fade,  as  Kingsley 
has  said:  "After  one  night  of  beauty  and  life,  and 
probably  of  enjoyment."  Yes,  why  not  enjoy- 
ment? Why  may  they  not  in  addition  to  life  and 
beauty  have  some  power  of  sense  and  feeling? 
On  some  plants  the  flowers  last  well  into  the  morn- 
ing, or  if  it  is  cloudy  the  greater  part  of  the  day. 
They  open  in  undiminished  numbers  during  cold 
nights. 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT         365 

In  May  and  June  several  species  of  night  bloom- 
ing cereus  blossom  at  dusk  but  they  usually  begin 
to  wither  before  sunrise.  As  a  rule  only  the  climb- 
ing species  do  well  here  and  two  or  three  of  these 
have  become  naturalized.  On  a  pine  trunk  in  my 
grounds  a  cereus,  probably  a  hybrid,  has  sent 
several  strict  stems  to  a  height  of  fifty  feet  and  I 
have  counted  over  twenty  great  flowers  on  it  in 
one  night.  Its  sepals  are  rich  brick  red,  the  petals 
satiny  white,  and  it  is  exceedingly  fragrant.  On  a 
single  plant  of  Cereus  triangularis  I  have  seen  fifty 
flowers  each  a  foot  in  diameter  and  they  trans- 
formed the  live  oak  on  which  the  vine  grew  into 
a  miracle  of  beauty.  No  less  than  seventy-four  of 
these  blossoms  were  seen  very  early  one  morning 
on  a  plant  which  scrambled  over  an  old  rock  pile. 

The  delicious,  spicy  fragrance  which  saturates 
the  atmosphere  of  the  hammock  and  even  beyond 
it  comes  from  the  marlberry  (Icacorea  paniculata), 
a  small  tree  which  opens  its  clusters  of  pale,  striped 
flowers  in  the  autumn.  In  the  winter  it  bears  at- 
tractive purple  berries  which  are  much  relished 
by  the  birds.  Some  of  the  cultivated  flowers  are 
also  very  fragrant  at  night.  One  of  these  (Acacia 
farnesiana),  a  small  native  tree  often  grown  in 


366  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

yards,  has  little  yellow  balls  of  stamens  which  scent 
a  large  area  of  a  calm  night.  The  night  blooming 
"jessamine"  is  not  a  jessamine  at  all  but  a  cousin 
of  the  potato  and  tobacco  plants.  Its  greenish 
yellow  blossoms  open  in  the  daytime  and  remain  in 
perfection  for  several  days.  Until  after  dark  they 
do  not  have  the  slightest  fragrance;  then  some 
magic  influence  of  the  night  suddenly  opens  their 
perfume  cells  and  the  wonderful  odor  pours  forth. 
In  its  native  region,  the  West  Indies,  this  perfume  is 
no  doubt  an  invitation  to  certain  nocturnal  insects, 
inactive  by  day,  to  come  for  honey  and  incidentally 
to  cross  fertilize  the  blossoms.  The  fragrance  of 
this  Cestrum  is  so  strong  that  a  small  spray  of  its 
blossoms  will  scent  every  room  in  a  large  house. 
No  words  can  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  soft- 
ness and  brilliancy  of  the  moon  in  Southern 
Florida  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  stars.  In 
the  hammock  the  moonlight  effect  is  wonderful 
as  it  filters  through  the  dense  foliage  and  forms 
varied  patterns  of  light  and  shadow  on  the  floor 
of  the  forest.  Looking  up  through  the  trees  it 
resembles  the  spray  of  an  illuminated  waterfall. 
Out  in  the  more  open  pine  woods  the  shadows  of 
light  clouds  floating  under  the  moon  give  almost 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT         367 

exactly  the  appearance  produced  by  a  passing 
shower.  In  the  lowlands  the  effect  of  moonlight 
and  shadow  on  the  pools  is  weird  in  the  true  Edgar 
Allan  Poe  sense  of  that  word.  In  places  the  light 
sifts  through  the  trees  and  glimmers  on  the  water; 
elsewhere  there  is  still  a  faint,  soft  gleam,  but 
under  the  heavy  vegetation  the  black  shadows  are 
full  of  mystery. 

The  effect  of  the  moonlight  on  the  palms  is 
bewitching  as  it  shimmers  on  the  glittering  leaflets, 
and  it  is  equally  fine  on  the  bamboos,  enhancing 
their  feathery  lightness  and  grace  more  deftly 
than  does  the  over-revealing  sunlight.  I  well 
remember  a  night  spent  at  the  home  of  Professor 
Nehrling,  of  Gotha,  Florida,  some  years  ago. 
There  was  a  full  moon  and  a  short  distance  from 
my  bedroom  window  grew  an  immense  clump  of 
the  majestic  bamboo,  Dendrocalamus  latifolius. 
Its  stems  arose  almost  straight  for  fully  fifty  feet 
and  then  with  indescribable  grace  arched  slightly 
outward.  I  sat  for  hours  at  my  window  and 
drank  in  the  intoxicating  beauty  of  this  stately 
grass,  and  it  seemed  to  me  in  that  magic  light  to 
be  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom I  had  ever  seen. 


368  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

During  the  rainy  season  vast  masses  of  cumuli 
or  "steam"  clouds  build  up  on  the  horizon,  some- 
times reaching  almost  to  the  zenith,  and  these  are 
especially  noticeable  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  even- 
ing. They  are  gray,  lead  colored,  or  even  a  dark, 
leaden  blue  in  the  shadow  but  in  the  light  of  a 
setting  sun  they  show  charming  tints  of  whitish, 
straw  color,  or  gold.  Sometimes  when  they  are 
piled  up  in  the  eastern  sky  they  exhibit  ravishing 
tints  of  salmon,  rosy  red,  or  violet.  As  the  light 
fades  from  their  more  illuminated  parts  they 
change  to  bluish  black.  The  effect  of  these 
immense  masses  of  summer  clouds  is  grand  in  the 
extreme. 

Orion,  the  most  magnificent  of  the  constella- 
tions, is  visible  evenings  from  November  to  May. 
At  the  time  when  this  group  is  on  the  zenith  no 
less  than  eight  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  are 
visible  in  our  latitude.  The  constellation  Scorpio 
is  almost  equally  splendid,  a  scorpion  without  a 
sting;  one  which  inspires  no  dread.  It  occupies 
a  great  space  in  the  heavens,  looking  like  an  im- 
mense inverted  interrogation  point.  It  is  visible 
during  the  summer  and  when  it  is  directly  above 
the  heavens  are  very  brilliant.  To  the  west  of  the 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT        369 

scorpion  is  the  Centaur,  a  large  group  with  a 
considerable  number  of  bright  stars  so  evenly 
strewn  that  one  might  imagine  some  giant  had 
scattered  them  as  a  sower  would  sow  grain. 

The  southern  sector  of  the  heavens  is  also  very 
brilliant  because  of  a  number  of  stars  of  first 
magnitude  not  visible  in  the  Northern  States.  In 
the  lower  part  of  the  Centaur  are  two  superb 
stars,  Agena  and  Bungula,  which  show  finely  low 
down  in  the  Southern  sky  in  late  spring  and  early 
summer.  It  is  probably  not  known  generally 
that  the  Southern  Cross  can  be  seen  in  its  entirety 
in  this  region  in  May  and  June.  With  a  clear 
horizon  Acrux,  the  southernmost  and  brightest 
star  of  the  Cross,  is  visible  here  for  a  short  time 
during  the  evenings  of  these  two  months.  The 
group  is  a  little  disappointing  as  it  is  not  a  very 
perfect  cross  but  rather  a  slightly  irregular  dia- 
mond. Acrux  is  a  splendid  object;  there  are  two 
stars  of  the  second  magnitude  and  two  lesser  ones. 
Canopus  is  a  fine  star  in  the  Southern  sky  and  so 
too  is  Fomalhaut,  only  seen  in  autumn, — in  the 
Southern  Fish.  This  is  not  in  the  zodiacal  con- 
stellation Pisces  which  has  two  fish  tied  together 
by  their  tails,  the  ribbon  being  bespangled  by 


370  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

small  stars.  Besides  these  there  is  a  Dolphin,  the 
Swordfish,  and  a  group  called  Pisces  Volans  (the 
Flying  Fish),  the  latter  far  down  in  the  Southern 
skies.  For  a  dry  region  the  firmament  seems  to  be 
pretty  well  stocked  with  fish. 

There  are  always  some  of  the  planets  visible 
and  one  may  watch  with  interest  their  motions 
and  the  changes  of  some  of  them  from  morning 
to  evening  stars  and  the  reverse.  The  stars 
become  one's  companions  and  friends  when  once 
he  has  learned  their  names  and  positions  in  the 
heavens;  they  exhibit  an  ever-changing  panorama 
of  interest  and  beauty.  During  the  wanderer's 
nightly  walks  he  visits  with  them  and  is  never 
lonely  when  their  kindly  light  shines  on  him.  By 
them  he  is  able  to  tell  with  considerable  accuracy 
the  hour  of  the  night. 

The  darkness  in  the  deep  hammock  is  so  intense 
that  it  seems  to  be  in  blots ;  like  that  of  Egypt  it 
can  be  felt.  The  sensation  one  gains  as  he  gropes 
about  in  it  is  one  of  helplessness  and  semi-terror; 
at  every  step  his  nerves  tingle.  One  hears  strange 
sounds  startling  and  affrighting;  the  whole  en- 
vironment is  uncanny.  I  frequently  awaken  in 
the  night  and,  unable  to  sleep  for  a  time,  I  some- 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  NIGHT         371 

times  wander  out  into  the  grounds  to  see  what  is 
going  on  in  the  darkness.  On  one  occasion  I  went 
into  the  hammock  at  about  two  in  the  morning 
and  while  standing  in  a  small  open  space  listening 
to  the  frog  chorus  I  heard  a  noise  in  the  dense 
forest  as  though  some  large  animal  were  rushing 
through  it.  It  seemed  to  be  moving  rapidly  in 
my  direction  and  from  being  startled  at  first  I 
became  frightened.  I  feel  sure  that  what  hair  I 
have  stood  on  end  and  I  was  strongly  tempted  to 
run  even  in  the  inky  darkness.  But  before  I  could 
make  up  my  mind  to  do  so  two  men  with  guns 
stepped  into  the  open  space  where  I  stood.  In 
such  a  voice  as  one  has  in  a  nightmare  I  managed 
to  call  out  "Who  are  you?"  and  when  they  heard 
me  they  were  as  frightened  as  I.  Then  they  told 
me  they  had  been  in  the  swamp  to  the  northward 
hunting  a  wildcat  and  were  on  their  way  home. 
When  I  had  somewhat  recovered  from  my  fright  I 
recognized  them  as  two  of  my  neighbors  and  we 
had  a  good  laugh  over  the  adventure. 

I  love  the  night  with  its  silence,  its  strange 
sounds,  its  beauty  and  mystery.  It  has  an  in- 
finite attraction  for  the  devotee  of  nature :  all  that 
he  sees,  hears,  and  feels  are  so  different  from  the 


372  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

experiences  of  the  daytime;  he  seems  to  be  in 
another  world.  Whatever  differs  from  the  or- 
dinary may  appeal  to  one's  fancy  and  produce  a 
thrill.  Muir  wrote  one  of  his  finest  chapters  as 
the  result  of  a  day's  tramp  in  a  pouring  rain,  and 
one  of  the  most  fascinating  of  William  Hamilton 
Gibson's  sketches,  which  he  illustrated  with  his 
wonderful  drawings,  was  an  account  of  a  night 
spent  in  the  great  out-of-doors.  Much  of  the 
wonder  and  beauty  of  the  night  consists  in  what  is 
only  half  seen,  in  what  is  partly  suggested,  leaving 
the  imagination  to  do  the  rest. 

It  is  then  largely  because  of  the  stimulation  of 
the  imagination  that  the  night  is  so  wonderful. 
Under  its  spell  we  create  a  world  of  our  own  and 
revel  in  the  make  believe — like  the  children  of  a 
larger  growth  that  we  all  are. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
The  Survival  of  tKe  Fittest 

THE  very  fact  that  tropical  life  exists  at 
all  in  Lower  Florida  is  in  itself  a  proof  of 
the  survival  of  the  fittest.  It  all  had  to 
cross  the  ocean  and  on  its  arrival  estab- 
lish itself  despite  the  competition  of  forms  which 
already  occupied  the  region.  In  addition  to  this 
the  environment  in  Florida  is  not  so  congenial  as 
in  the  regions  from  which  this  life  migrated.  The 
lower  part  of  our  State  has  a  colder  climate  than 
any  part  of  the  American  tropics  which  lies  near 
the  level  of  the  sea;  food  is  not  so  abundant  and 
our  soil  is  generally  poorer.  Land  birds  of  weak 
flight,  reptiles  and  batrachians  of  degenerate  type, 
or  mammals  and  insects  of  uneconomic  habit  would 
be  almost  entirely  shut  out.  The  seeds  of  a  great 
number  of  plants  sink  in  salt  water,  and  some 
that  float  lose  their  vitality  in  the  sea.  Only  the 
strong  and  fit,  those  with  great  vitality,  could  ever 

373 


374  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

have  become  established  on  our  shores.  On  the 
other  hand  life  which  had  no  doubt  previously 
migrated  to  the  lower  end  of  our  State  from  the 
northward  met  that  from  the  tropics  and  a  battle 
royal  for  a  place  and  food  began  and  has  ever  since 
been  waged  with  never-ceasing  relentlessness. 

We  have  two  species  of  Ficus  in  Lower  Florida, 
both  of  which  have  somewhat  similar  habits,  but 
one  of  them,  Ficus  aurea,  quite  commonly  begins 
life  as  an  epiphyte,  while  the  other,  Ficus  brevifolta, 
usually  grows  throughout  its  life  in  the  ground. 
They  belong  to  a  family  which  is  abundant  in  the 
tropics  of  the  old  and  new  worlds,  and  containing 
a  number  of  species  that  live  on  other  trees  and 
choke  them  to  death,  hence  they  are  called 
"stranglers."  The  floor  of  the  hammocks  or 
tropical  forests  is  a  dark  place,  where  even  at 
noontime  of  the  brightest  day  there  is  but  a 
limited  amount  of  light.  If  the  seeds  of  the  Ficus 
fell  upon  it  they  would  doubtless  germinate  on 
account  of  the  heat  and  moisture,  but  in  the  dim, 
crowded  forest  they  would  stand  little  chance  of 
ever  becoming  trees.  So  the  strangling  figs  resort 
to  a  cunning  trick.  Their  fruits  are  eagerly  de- 
voured by  birds  and  when  they  alight  on  the  branch 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     375 

of  another  tree  the  indigestible  seeds  may  be 
passed  out  and  lodged  in  some  cavity  or  crevice 
of  the  bark.  Ordinary  seeds  would  never  ger- 
minate in  such  situations  and  if  they  did  the  young 
plants  would  soon  die  because  of  lack  of  nourish- 
ment. Those  of  the  Ficus  sprout  and  begin  to 
grow  on  the  tree  where  they  are  lodged,  and  the 
radicle  develops  into  a  tiny  root  which  creeps  out 
over  the  surface  of  the  trunk  or  limb  to  which  it 
is  attached;  the  plumule  becomes  a  stem  bearing 
the  ordinary  Ficus  leaves,  and  in  a  short  time  it 
is  a  strong,  healthy  plant.  It  is  not  a  parasite  for 
it  does  not  draw  its  sap  from  its  host ;  it  is  at  first 
an  epiphyte  and  it  seems  to  cling  with  a  sort  of 
loving  dependence  to  its  supporter.  Often  the 
foliage  of  the  two  looks  so  much  alike  that  the 
uninitiated  would  never  suspect  that  two  different 
trees  were  growing  together,  and  I  have  sometimes 
fancied  that  this  was  a  sort  of  cuckoo  trick  by 
which  this  interloper  sought  to  deceive  its  host 
and  pass  itself  off  for  a  part  of  it. 

One  root  follows  after  another  and  when  they 
reach  the  ground  they  "make  fast,"  as  the  sailors 
say,  and  soon  become  "taut  as  a  bowline."  Then 
lateral  roots  spring  out  and  cross  the  perpendicular 


376  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

ones,  "marrying"  wherever  they  touch  each  other, 
and  soon  the  whole  system  becomes  a  closely 
cemented  network.  In  some  cases  the  falling 
roots  turn  once  or  more  around  the  trunk  of  the 
host  before  reaching  the  ground.  At  first  they  do 
not  seem  to  injure  the  embraced  tree  but  later 
when  they  have  fully  enclosed  it  the  leaves  turn 
yellow  and  it  slowly  dies.  There  is  no  funeral  or 
any  sign  of  mourning  in  the  dim  forest;  the  Ficus 
deliberately  goes  on  covering  the  dead  trunk  with 
its  terrible  roots.  Soon  boring  beetles  invade  the 
trunk,  which  on  account  of  the  heat  and  moisture 
has  already  begun  to  decay.  In  a  short  time  there 
begins  to  fall  from  between  the  enclosing  roots 
what  looks  like  sawdust  which  forms  a  mound  at 
the  foot  of  the  Ficus.  Now  the  usurper  begins  to 
fill  in  the  space  (which  was  occupied  by  the  host) 
with  its  own  growth,  becoming  for  a  time  an  endo- 
gen,  and  later  the  Ficus  becomes  a  solid  trunk 
standing  erect  and  looking  much  like  any  ordinary 
forest  tree.  The  whole  process,  which  is  somewhat 
complicated  and  requires  many  years  for  its  com- 
pletion, is  initiated  and  carried  out  in  order  that 
the  fig  may  have  an  opportunity  to  begin  life  and 
have  a  place  in  the  forest  where  there  is  plenty  of 


Actual  Moonlight  Scene,  Looking  across  Biscayne  Bay  from  the 
Pavilion  at  "The  Sentinels."     A  Two  Hours'  Exposure 

Photo  by  Mrs.  Reba   Minford 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     377 

air,  room,  and  light.  It  looks  very  much  like  the 
result  of  planning  and  reasoning,  of  a  deliberate 
selfishness  of  the  worst  sort.  The  helpless  tree 
which  is  being  crushed  and  strangled  in  the  em- 
brace of  the  fig,  the  long,  lithe  roots  thrusting 
themselves  into  every  crevice,  wrapping  tighter 
and  tighter  about  their  victim,  remind  one  of 
Laocoon  and  the  serpents.  The  fig  is  not  content 
with  using  the  host  to  elevate  it  into  the  region  of 
light  and  give  it  a  start  in  life,  but  it  utterly  de- 
stroys its  benefactor  in  order  that  it  may  use  the 
exact  space  it  occupied. 

When  they  have  plenty  of  room  our  Ficus  or 
wild  figs  often  reach  gigantic  proportions.  They 
frequently  come  up  in  the  pineland,  especially 
about  dwellings  or  cultivated  land,  and  grow 
rapidly,  but  they  are  so  different  in  appearance 
from  the  hammock  specimens  that  no  one  would 
suspect  that  they  were  the  same  species.  In  the 
latter  locations  the  tiny  roots  of  Ficus  aurea 
usually  grow  singly,  while  in  the  open  those  of  both 
trees  are  in  fascicles  which  often  become  tangled 
and  braided  by  the  action  of  the  wind.  At  last 
they  become  consolidated  into  great,  knotted 
ropes.  The  lighter  colored  growing  points  are 


378  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

more  or  less  sticky  during  damp  weather  and  when 
they  are  thrown  against  the  trunk  or  each  other 
they  adhere  and  are  soon  solidly  joined  together. 
They  reach  out  and  spread  as  they  clutch  like  a 
many  fingered  hand;  in  fact  they  are  uncanny 
things  for  they  appear  possessed  of  nerves,  muscles, 
and  a  sinister  intelligence.  The  layers  of  growth, 
largely  made  up  of  these  fascicles,  are  far  more 
locked  and  complicated  than  those  of  a  northern 
sycamore.  These  roots  may  be  thrown  against 
fences  and  buildings,  and  if  so  they  catch  on  and 
may  hang  in  fantastic  loops,  or  they  drop  into  the 
ground  and  in  time  the  great  tree  becomes  a 
veritable  banyan. 

The  struggle  for  existence  among  plants  begins 
with  the  seed  and  never  ends  until  death.  Nature 
has  to  be  wonderfully  fecund  for  not  one  seed  in  a 
hundred,  or  in  some  cases  a  thousand,  becomes  a 
mature  plant.  Down  on  the  mud  flats  I  have 
seen  the  ground  covered  so  thickly  with  young 
seedling  Laguncularias  that  they  actually  touched 
each  other.  There  were  plants  enough  to'  make  a 
hundred  acres  of  forest  could  they  have  been 
properly  cared  for.  A  visit  to  the  same  spot  a 
year  later  showed  only  here  and  there  a  young 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     379 

plant  struggling  to  get  up  through  the  thick  scrub 
and  weeds.  In  another  year  nearly  all  were  gone, 
swept  away  by  high  tides,  devoured  by  insects, 
killed  by  disease,  or  choked  out  by  other  vegetation. 
The  same  is  true  in  the  hammock  where  thousands 
of  plants  of  the  Ocoteas,  Eugenias,  papaws  or  live 
oaks  come  up  in  a  single  season.  They  all  run 
the  gantlet  and  at  best  only  a  few  half  starved 
plants  survive  for  even  a  few  years.  By  and  by 
some  old  tree  which  has  occupied  a  large  space  dies 
and  falls,  leaving  an  open  spot,  and  a  single  seed- 
ling which  is  a  little  stronger  or  more  advanta- 
geously situated  than  the  rest  soon  occupies  the 
vacant  area  and  keeps  down  all  the  others.  Thus 
nature  wastes  an  almost  uncalculable  amount  of 
energy.  , 

Is  it  any  wonder  then  that  with  the  fierce  com- 
petition for  space,  light,  and  opportunity  in  the 
forests  the  weaker  plants  are  driven  out  into  the 
swamps,  into  the  water,  or  onto  the  trees  to  live 
as  epiphytes;  anywhere  that  they  can  find  room 
and  make  out  an  existence?  Is  it  strange  that 
they  seem  to  resort  to  all  kinds  of  schemes  which 
will  give  their  seeds  a  chance  to  grow  and  re- 
produce their  species?  The  epiphytes  have  used 


38o  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

several  cunning  devices  wherewith  to  establish 
themselves.  The  seeds  of  orchids  are  very  minute 
and  can  be  borne  long  distances  by  the  wind. 
Those  of  our  species  of  air  pines  (Tillandsia, 
Catopsis,  and  Guzmannia)  are  provided  with  a 
tuft  of  silky  filaments,  much  like  the  down  on  a 
thistle,  the  whole  so  light  that  it  almost  floats  in 
the  air.  Whenever  these  are  blown  or  drift  against 
the  limb  or  trunk  of  a  tree  the  roughened  threads 
are  pretty  likely  to  catch  and  hold.  The  wind 
and  rain  beat  them  down  against  the  bark  until 
the  seed  touches  it,  when  without  any  soil  or  extra 
moisture  they  germinate,  forming  at  first  a  few 
fleshy  leaves  like  an  aloe,  and  at  the  same  time 
sending  out  roots  which  cling  to  their  support. 

On  some  of  the  trees  in  my  hammock  I  fastened 
small  specimens  of  a  giant  air  plant  from  Cuba 
which  has  hard,  indigestible  seeds  imbedded  in  a 
sweet,  sticky  pulp,  the  whole  contained  in  a  sort 
of  capsule.  In  its  native  land  the  birds  eagerly 
devour  the  fruits,  a  part  of  which  often  adheres  to 
their  beaks,  claws,  or  feathers.  When  they  alight 
on  other  trees  the  sticky  mass  may  come  in  contact 
with  limbs  or  bark  and  adhere,  or  the  seeds  are 
passed  through  and  lodge  where  they  can  grow. 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     381 

Strangely  the  birds  here  have  not  learned  that 
the  fruits  on  my  imported  plants  are  edible,  though 
they  have  been  growing  here  a  number  of  years. 

The  common  long  or  Spanish  moss  which  is 
placed  in  the  genus  Dendropogon  hangs  from  the 
branches  of  trees  over  wide  areas  in  the  lower 
south.  In  addition  to  its  means  of  propagation 
by  seeds  which  are  borne  on  air  currents,  its  long, 
pendant  streamers  are  constantly  being  torn  off 
and  carried  for  some  distance  by  winds  which 
lodge  them  on  the  limbs  of  other  trees.  When- 
ever they  are  so  landed  they  throw  out  roots  from 
any  part  of  the  stems  which  come  in  contact  with 
the  wood  and  a  new  plant  is  born.  This  is  a  very 
common  and  efficient  means  of  distributing  this 
strange  Bromeliad. 

We  have  several  kinds  of  native  plants  which 
are  not  at  all  dominant  in  a  wild  state  but  which 
become  decidedly  aggressive  and  assume  the 
character  of  weeds  in  cultivated  ground.  Among 
these  are  two  or  three  species  of  sand  burs  (Cen- 
chrus)  and  a  Boerhaavia,  all  of  which  are  provided 
with  burs  and  are  among  our  most  pestiferous 
weeds.  Almost  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  broken, 
they  begin  to  appear  in  great  numbers  and  only 


382  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

the  most  constant  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  cul- 
tivator can  keep  them  from  taking  full  possession. 
Their  seeds,  like  those  of  most  weeds,  germinate 
during  damp  weather  by  merely  being  in  contact 
with  the  surface  of  the  soil,  in  fact  if  they  are 
buried  a  couple  of  inches  they  will  not  grow.  So 
omnipresent  are  these  pests  about  our  homes  that 
they  seem  to  be  an  example  of  the  "survival  of  the 
unfit."  One  of  the  sumacs  (Rhus  obtusifolid)  is 
often  seen  as  a  shrub  in  the  pineland  and  along 
the  edges  of  hammocks,  but  in  cultivated  ground 
it  becomes  a  small  tree,  propagating  itself  rapidly 
by  underground  runners  and  becoming  not  merely 
a  nuisance  but  a  menace.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
common  and  widely  distributed  woodbine  (Ampe- 
lopsis  quinquefolia)  and  a  grape  (Vitis  munson- 
iana)  both  of  which  grow  in  the  edge  of  hammocks 
but  are  spreading  alarmingly  in  tilled  ground. 
These  are  doubtless  kept  within  bounds  in  a  wild 
state  by  forest  fires.  They  bear  fruit  much  more 
abundantly  where  the  other  wild  vegetation  is 
kept  down,  and  the  birds  carry  and  drop  their 
seeds  everywhere. 

There  are  several  plants  which  are  naturalized 
here  from  the  tropics  that  come  up  and  flourish 


M 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     383 

in  our  grounds  and  fields  that  are  quite  tender  and 
are  occasionally  frozen  to  the  ground  but  which 
seem  nevertheless  to  be  very  much  at  home  and 
are  firmly  established.  Among  these  is  the  com- 
mon beggar's  tick  (Bidens  leucaniha)  which  is  so 
tender  that  the  least  frost  cuts  it  badly.  Our 
yellow  elder  (Tecoma  starts')  and  the  common  guava 
have  both  become  completely  naturalized,  but 
they  are  sometimes  killed  by  freezing.  No  doubt 
these  all  find  the  environment  generally  congenial 
and  in  spite  of  being  seriously  injured  now  and 
then  they  are  able  to  maintain  themselves.  * 

Along  the  roadsides  is  a  common  weed,  a  native 
of  India  (Sporobolus  indicus)  which  takes  the 
place  of  the  northern  plantains,  as  it  flourishes 
best  in  much  trodden  places.  It  is  a  tough,  wiry 
grass  and  though  it  does  not  bear  a  bur  it  is  very 
persistent,  driving  out  other  plants  wherever  it 
becomes  established. 

In  an  early  day  in  Illinois,  my  native  State,  the 
prairies  were  covered  with  beautiful  flowering 
plants  and  nutritious  grasses  but  as  soon  as  settle- 
ments were  made  a  great  variety  of  weeds  came 
in  and  began  to  take  possession  of  the  roadsides, 
yards,  and  waste  places  until  it  seemed  as  though 


384  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

they  would  exterminate  all  cultivated  plants. 
Then  a  plant  native  in  the  Northern  Alleghanies 
began  to  creep  in  along  the  roads,  pastures,  and 
fields,  in  fact  everywhere;  a  plant  that  has  proven 
to  be  almost  as  much  a  boon  to  the  people  of  the 
Eastern  United  States  as  corn  or  wheat.  It  is 
the  Kentucky  blue  grass  (Poa  prcetensis),  rich, 
green,  and  nutritious.  It  at  once  drove  out  the 
weeds  and  has  ever  since  covered  the  land  with  a 
beautiful  green  carpet.  It  seems  probable  that  a 
similar  process  is  taking  place  in  Lower  Florida 
to-day.  A  handsome  grass  from  South  Africa,  the 
Natal  grass,  with  pale  green  leaves  and  stems,  has 
been  introduced  and  has  escaped  cultivation.  It 
was  grown  for  its  beauty,  the  hairy  flowers  being 
a  rich  rose  color.  In  places  where  it  has  become 
established  it  is  driving  out  our  pestiferous  weeds 
and  taking  full  possession.  When  one  looks 
across  a  field  of  this  Tricholana  rosea  towards  the 
morning  or  evening  sun  a  thrilling  sight  is  pre- 
sented, a  sheet  of  the  loveliest  variegated  rose 
imaginable.  It  is  relished  by  stock,  makes  good 
hay,  and  may  be  easily  killed  by  the  plow. 

There  are  a  number  of  animals  in  Lower  Florida 
which  have  developed  cunning  tricks  or  ingenious 


The  Work  of  the  Strangling  Fig,  Second  Stage,  Sending  Down  Roots. 
On  Great  Oak  in  Cutler  Hammock 

Photo  by   Wilson  Popenoe 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     385 

devices  for  their  betterment  or  as  a  protection 
against  their  enemies.  We  have  at  least  two  spe- 
cies of  the  great  sulphur  butterflies  (Catopsilia) 
which  love  the  sunlight  and  are  especially  abundant 
in  open  places.  Their  flight  is  exceedingly  swift 
and  they  constantly  move  in  spirals  and  zig-zags, 
so  that  it  is  difficult  for  any  bird  to  capture  them. 
There  is  a  small  butterfly  in  our  hammocks  in 
considerable  numbers  in  autumn  and  early  winter, 
one  of  the  Eunicas  or  violet-wings,  E.  tatila  proba- 
bly. The  upper  side  of  its  wings  is  shaded  with 
magnificent  royal  purple;  both  sides  of  the  upper 
wings  are  white  spotted,  and  the  under  side  of  the 
lower  ones  is  smoky  colored.  It  almost  always 
alights  on  the  smooth,  brown  bark  of  small  trees, 
closing  the  wings  at  once,  but  leaving  the  upper 
ones  raised,  and  in  that  position  the  white  spots 
show  plainly.  Then  it  slowly  opens  its  wings; 
the  upper  ones  drop  down  behind  the  lower  ones 
and  only  the  smoky  under  surfaces  of  the  lower 
wings  show.  If  the  color  of  the  bark  on  which  it 
has  alighted  is  lighter  or  darker  than  that  shown 
by  the  butterfly  it  slowly  changes  its  tint  until  it 
harmonizes  with  its  environment.  Once  I  saw  one 
of  these  Eunicas  alight  on  a  spot  where  a  dark  bit 


386  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

of  color  on  the  bark  joined  a  lighter  patch  and  im- 
mediately, as  though  it  noticed  its  mistake,  it 
moved  over  to  the  lighter  color  which  more  nearly 
harmonized  with  it.  One  of  these  sitting  on  the 
smooth  trunk  of  a  tree  looks  exactly  like  a  small 
piece  of  its  bark  which  has  become  loosened  and 
turned  up;  this  is  probably  just  what  the  insect 
intends  to  simulate.  Since  I  have  learned  its 
trick  I  have  been  deceived  by  it  repeatedly. 
Pyrrhan<za  portia,  one  of  our  large  butterflies  with 
gorgeous  crimson  or  scarlet  wings,  attempts  almost 
exactly  the  same  trick  but  it  does  not  quite  so  com- 
pletely conceal  itself. 

There  is  a  handsome,  slender  winged  butterfly 
common  in  our  hammocks  and  shaded  areas  (Heli- 
conias  charitonius) ,  our  only  member  of  a  large 
family  belonging  to  the  American  tropics.  Its 
wings  are  jet  black,  with  irregular  diagonal  yellow 
bars.  They  have  a  peculiar  trembling  flight  and 
on  account  of  their  abundance  are  the  most  con- 
spicuous insect  ornament  of  our  forests.  One  day 
while  sitting  by  one  of  the  pools  in  my  hammock 
I  saw  half  a  dozen  of  them  hanging  to  a  strand  of 
long  moss  and  apparently  dead.  The  closed  wings 
hung  straight  down  with  a  decidedly  limp  appear- 


Work  of  the  Strangling  Fig,  Third  Stage.     Sending  out  Cross  Roots 

Photo  by  Wilson  Popenoe 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     387 

ance;  the  shining  black  color  of  flight  was  now  dull, 
and  the  yellow  bars  had  turned  to  a  dirty  white. 
I  thought  I  would  examine  them  to  see  what  had 
happened  and  to  fix  the  guilt  upon  a  suspicious 
looking  spider.  When  I  reached  my  hand  towards 
them  in  a  flash  the  whole  lot  flew  away  and  began 
their  trembling  flight. 

They  attach  themselves  in  considerable  num- 
bers, crowding  so  close  on  the  moss  that  they 
touch  each  other;  in  fact  I  once  counted  twenty- 
five  of  them  within  a  space  of  ten  inches.  At 
times  they  partly  bury  themselves  in  the  moss  and 
the  irregular  wing  stripes  look  almost  exactly  like 
the  twisted  strands  among  which  they  are  hiding. 
The  ground  color  of  the  insect  is  not  at  all  con- 
spicuous and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  whole 
arrangement  is  a  trick  to  deceive  its  enemies  into 
supposing  it  is  only  part  of  the  long  moss.  So 
closely  do  they  mimic  their  environment  that  I 
always  have  to  look  closely  to  be  sure  whether 
they  are  on  the  moss  or  not,  and  so  completely 
do  they  simulate  death  that  I  am  constantly  being 
deceived  into  thinking  that  they  must  be  dead. 
Their  color  returns  at  once  when  they  recommence 
their  flight. 


388  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

The  Calverts  found  this  same  widely  distributed 
butterfly  in  Costa  Rica  and  during  these  rests  or 
sleeps  it  became  so  dormant  that  one  allowed  it- 
self to  be  picked  up,  making  but  little  effort  to 
escape.  Beebe  says  that  in  British  Guiana  the 
Heliconias  alight  on  bare  twigs,  folding  their  wings 
and  sleeping  through  the  night.  In  this  position 
they  presented  no  surface  to  the  rain;  they  also 
hung  edgewise  to  the  direction  from  which  it  was 
sure  to  come.  Ours  seem  often  to  be  possessed 
with  a  spirit  of  mischief,  for  when  a  lot  of  them 
have  alighted  for  the  night  another  will  come  and 
make  repeated  dabs  at  the  rest  until  finally  they 
are  all  irritated  into  flight. 

I  often  see  a  rather  large  butterfly  (Timetes 
petreus),  one  of  the  dagger  wings,  which  is  an 
example  of  protective  mimicry  almost  as  wonder- 
ful as  the  celebrated  leaf  butterfly  (Kallima  para- 
lekta)  of  the  East  Indies,  which  may  now  be  seen 
in  most  large  museums.  Our  species  has  long 
wings  with  a  rather  irregular  outline,  the  ends  of 
the  upper  pair  being  strongly  curved  outwards. 
When  flying  it  is  a  most  conspicuous  object  as 
both  surfaces  of  the  wings  are  a  bright  rufous  red 
or  even  scarlet  and  have  three  narrow,  dark  bars 


The  Work  of  the  Strangling  Fig.      Last  Stage  in  which  the  Host  is 
Wholly  Enveloped 

Photo  by  Wilson  Popenoe 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     389 

running  from  near  the  top  of  the  upper  wings  to 
the  base  of  the  lower  ones.  *  At  the  extreme  lower 
point  of  the  latter  there  is  a  curved,  projecting 
tail  and  another  much  longer  one  above  it.  Al- 
though I  often  watched  closely  I  could  never  find 
it  after  it  alighted  in  the  dense  forest.  I  could  see 
its  gorgeous  wings  as  it  flew  with  great  rapidity 
through  the  hammock;  then,  as  suddenly  as  the 
turning  out  of  an  electric  light,  it  was  gone.  One 
day  when  I  was  in  the  hammock  a  Timetes  flew 
close  by  me  and  vanished  within  a  yard  of  my  face. 
It  seemed  to  disappear  among  some  dead  leaves 
on  a  shrub  before  me  and  as  I  peered  very  closely 
among  them  I  discovered  it,  apparently  as  perfect 
a  dead  leaf  as  any  on  the  bush.  The  wings  were 
closed  and  much  of  the  red  color  had  faded,  their 
under  surfaces  had  grown  darker  and  were  slightly 
variegated  with  a  smoky  brown  exactly  the  color 
of  the  dead  leaves.  The  lower  tail  was  pressed 
closely  against  the  twig  on  which  it  had  alighted 
and  formed  a  perfect  petiole.  This  appeared  to  be 
continued  up  two  thirds  of  the  length  of  the  sup- 
posed leaf  as  a  midrib.  This  midrib  seemed  to  be 
actually  raised  but  I  afterwards  discovered  that  it 
is  cleverly  composed  of  color  markings,  so  arranged 


390  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

that  they  produce  the  appearance  of  relief.  At 
one  side  there  is  a  notch  at  the  junction  of  the 
upper  and  lower  wings  which  reaches  to  the  sup- 
posed midrib,  looking  exactly  as  though  the  old 
leaf  had  been  torn.  About  this  ragged  notch  are 
some  small  blotches  which  look  precisely  like  holes 
made  by  some  leaf-eating  insect.  The  illusion  is 
further  carried  out  by  some  faint  markings  of  a 
pale  color  easily  to  be  taken  for  the  web  of  the 
supposed  insect.  Only  the  hinder  feet  of  the  but- 
terfly clung  to  the  twig  and  the  small  body  could 
hardly  be  seen.  In  some  cases  when  among  dead 
leaves  the  Timetes  twists  its  wings  so  that  they 
are  almost  contorted  and  thus  increases  further 
its  resemblance  to  a  dead  leaf.  They  rely  so  com- 
pletely on  this  perfect  camouflage  that  on  several 
occasions  I  have  picked  them  up  without  their 
making  any  attempt  to  escape.  I  have  frequently 
watched  these  insects  when  they  were  gathering 
honey  from  wild  coffee  and  other  shrubs  and  the 
under  surfaces  of  their  wings  at  such  times  retain 
their  bright  color. 

The  tiny  scales  on  the  butterflies'  wings  are 
hollow  and  a  canal  connects  each  of  them  with 
the  circulatory  system.  A  liquid  is  injected  into 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     391 

the  scales  to  give  them  their  color,  and  withdrawn 
during  periods  of  rest  or  sleep.  This  accounts  for 
the  slight  change  in  the  wing  colors  of  the  species 
I  have  mentioned  when  they  wish  to  mimic  the 
object  on  which  they  alight,  and  the  regaining  of 
their  normal  color  when  they  fly. 

There  is,  no  doubt,  a  weeding-out  process  going 
on,  caused  by  the  severe  frosts  which  occasionally 
visit  the  more  tropical  parts  of  Florida.  The 
tenderer  trees  and  herbaceous  plants  are  some- 
times either  killed  outright  or  so  weakened  that, 
for  a  time,  the  hardier  ones  gain  a  decided  ascend- 
ency. Then  a  series  of  mild  winters  gives  the 
tropical  species  their  opportunity  to  forge  ahead 
and  drive  their  rivals  out,  or  at  least  to  gain  a 
marked  advantage.  Several  species  of  plants  in  a 
wild  state  are  particularly  subject  to  the  attacks  of 
certain  insects  which  may  seriously  handicap  them 
in  the  struggle  for  supremacy  or  even  existence. 
In  this  region  the  wild  fiddlewood  (Citharexylum) 
is  almost  constantly  attacked  by  a  tent  caterpillar 
which  may  destroy  all  the  leaves  on  an  entire  tree. 
A  small  beetle,  apparently  a  Curculio,  has  for 
some  years  pierced  the  seeds  of  our  native  Ocotea, 
so  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  a  single  perfect 


392  IN  LOWER  FLORIDA  WILDS 

one.  If  such  depredations  were  to  continue  un- 
abated through  a  long  series  of  years  they  might 
entirely  prevent  the  plants  from  propagating  and 
they  would  eventually  be  exterminated  throughout 
the  area  in  which  they  were  attacked.  In  this 
way  we  might  account  for  the  absence  of  certain 
trees  and  plants  in  regions  where  we  would 
naturally  expect  to  find  them. 

A  cold  winter  or  a  series  of  them  undoubtedly 
destroys  great  numbers  of  injurious  insects  and 
fungi  and  may  check  diseases  which  prey  on  our 
plants.  Such  a  winter  or  winters  are  followed  by 
an  unusually  vigorous  growth  of  vegetation,  since 
it  has  fewer  enemies  to  cope  with.  This  luxuriance 
of  growth  and  scarcity  of  enemies  gives  the  sur- 
vivors an  excellent  opportunity  with  a  greater 
share  of  food  and  room,  and  as  a  consequence  the 
destroyers  again  wax  lusty,  multiply  with  great 
rapidity,  and  in  a  short  time  the  equilibrium  of 
nature  is  reestablished  and  the  old  order  of  life  is 
restored. 

There  are  those  who  believe  there  is  imminent 
danger  that  many  of  our  cultivated  plants  will 
become  exterminated  by  imported  diseases  and 
injurious  insects  and  that  unless  the  strictest  in- 


THE  SURVIVAL  OF  THE  FITTEST     393 

spection  is  kept  up  and  the  most  rigorous  restraints 
enforced  on  plant  growers,  our  agriculture  and 
horticulture  will  totally  fail.  They  forget  or  do 
not  know  that  nature  constantly  tends  to  produce 
an  equilibrium.  Ever  since  life  developed  on  this 
planet  a  never-ending  struggle  has  gone  on  be- 
tween the  good  and  bad  influences  and  agencies  to 
build  up  and  develop  or  weaken  and  destroy,  — 
the  evil  and  ruinous  forces  of  nature  on  the  one 
hand  and  her  strength  and  upbuilding  power,  her 
eternal  fecundity  and  virility,  on  the  other.  Life 
flourishes  with  as  much  health  and  vigor  now  as  it 
did  in  the  old  Cambrian  days,  and  there  is  no  rea- 
son to  believe  that  it  will  become  extinct  or  even 
grow  feeble  until  the  cooling  off  of  the  sun's  heat 
signals  the  end. 


?  ..        / 

t*/ 


rfr 

k  -f  e 


INDEX 

Italicized    numbers   indicate   pages   on   which  subjects  are 

discussed. 


Abudefduf  saxatilis,  304 
Acacia  farnesiana,  365 
Acetabularia,  309 
Acnida  australis,  125 
Acaelorraphe  wrightii,  98,  108 
"Across  the  Everglades,"  140, 

239 

Acrostichum,  no,  266 
Adams,  C.  B.,  346 
Aerating  roots,  251 
^Egeridae,  102 
Areas,  313 
Areas  of  life,  1 1 
Africa,  182 
Agariciasj  307 
Agassiz,  Alexander,  332 
Agassiz,  Louis,  34 
Agave,  57 
A  gave  neglecta,  124 
"Age  of  Cycads,"  174 
Age  of  the  hammocks,  230 
Albatross,  steamer,  326 
Alcatapacpachee  River,  236 
Alcyonarians,  307 
Allen,  Grant,  331 
Alligator,  239 
Altamaha  River,  105 
Aluco  pratincola,  355 
Alvaradoa  amorphotdes,  162 
Ambrosia  or  ragweed,  164 
Ameria  scalar  is,  245 


American  tropics,  148 
Amerimnon,  50 
Ampelopsis  quinquefolia,  382 
Amphiperas  acicularis,  315 
Ampullaria,  246 
Andrews,  E.  P.,  1 80 
Anhinga  anhinga,  127 
Annona,  135,  244 
Annona  glabra,  265 
Annona  palustris,  265 
Anolis  carolinensis,  101 
Antedon,  322 

Antrostomus  carolinensis,  354 
Appalachian  Mountains,  30 
Appalachicola  River,  5 
Aramus  vociferus,  127 
Arch  Creek,  18,  236 
Arnold,  Mrs.  Augusta,  280 
Asplenium  dentatum,  247 
Astreans,  306 

Atlantic  Monthly,  quoted,  152 
Australia,  182 
Avicennia  nitida,  264 

B 

Baccharis,  270 

Baccharis  halimifolia,  193 

Bahamas,  166 

Bahia  Honda  Key,  36,  37,  48 

Bambusa  vulgaris,  346 

Banana  holes,  197 

Barnes  Sound,  15,  33 


395 


396                                 INDEX 

Bartram,  William,  184,  240 
Bay  of  Florida,  33,  119 

Camp  Jackson,  131 
Campyloneurum  phylliditist2l4. 

Bear  Lake,  62 

Canada,  144 

Beebe,  William,  15 

Canavalias,  152 

Bejaria  racemosa,  162 
Bidens  or  beggar's  ticks,  164 

Canavalia  rusiosperma,  298 
Cancellaria  tenera,  81 

Bidens  leucantha,  383 

Canella  winteriana,  86 

Big  Coppitt  Key,  38 
Big  Pine  Key,  1  8,  38,  51,  57 
Big  Sable  Creek,  66,  236 
Biscayne  Bay,  15,  24,  97 

Cannaflaccida,  124 
Cape  Canaveral,  25 
Cape  Florida,  33 
Cape  Romano,  6,  32,  35 

Black  Creek,  236 

Cape  Sable,  20,  32,  35,  60,  183 

Black  snail,  89 

Cardisoma  guanhumi,  268,  360 

Blackwater  Bay,  33 

Cardium  isocardia,  282,  294 

Blechnum,  266 

Cardium  Icevigatum,  282 

Blechnum  serrulatum,  272 

Cardium  magnum,  282 

Boca  Chica  Key,  37,  38 

Cardium  peramabile,  327 

Boca  Grande,  41 

Cardiums,  288,  293 

Boca  Baton,  18 

Card  Sound,  15,  33,  97 

Bcerhaavia,  164,  382 

Caribbean  pine,  57,  180 

Boston  fern,  206 

Carica  papaya,  204 

Botulas,  314 

Gassy  thaceae,  182 

Brachyopods,  129,  324 

Cassythafiliformis,  182 

Bradley,  Warren,  112 

Catopsilia,  385 

Brown,  A.  D.,  311 

Catopsis,  no,  380 

Bufo  lentiginosus,  358 

Cenchrus  or  sand  bur,  164 

Bumelia  angustifolia,  50,  86 
Burroughs,  John,  276 
Bursera,  200 

Cephalanthus,  266 
Cephalanthus  occidentalis,  19$ 
Central  America,  168 

Bursera  gummifera,   193,   195, 

Ceratiola  ericoides,  162 

217 

Cereus  eriophorus,  87 

Byrd,  Dr.  Hiram,  351 

Cereus  pentagonus,  50,  86 

Byrsonoma  lucida,  196 

Cereus  triangularis,  365 

C 

Cerion,  338 
Ceuthophilus,  184 

Chcetodon  capistratus,  305 

Cacti,  no 

Chaetodonts,  305 

Caesar's  Creek,  28 

Chatham  River,  147 

Calcareous  teeth  in  land  shells, 

Chenopodiums,  164 

336 

Chis  Cut,  97,  236 

Callicarpa  americana,  195,  212 

Chitons,  287 

Caloosahatchie  River,  7,  134, 

Chittahatchee  River,  236 

136 

Chokoloskee,  35,  157 

Calophyllum  calaba,  152 

Chokoloskee  Bay,  66 

Calyptranthus  zuzygium,  162 

Chokoloskee  Island,  65,  71 

Cambrian,  129 

Chokoloskee  River,  236 

INDEX 

397 

Chokoloskee  Village,  66                 Cyclostomidae,  336 

Chordeilus  virginianus,  354 
Chrysobalanus,  153,  195,  244, 

Cymodoce,  262,  302 
Cypraeas,  287,  313 

270 

Cypress  swamp,  240 

Chrysophyllum  olivaforme,  217 

Cyrtopodium   punctatum, 

1  10, 

Citharexylum,  158,  391 

213 

Cladium  effusum,  121,  247 

Cytherea  dione,  294 

Clark,  Professor,  328 

Clionas,  300 

D 

Coal  in  Florida,  6 

Coccolobis  floridana,  226 

Dade    County,    Florida, 

20, 

Coccolobis  uvifera,  85 
Coccothrinax  garberi,  167 
Coccothrinax  jucunda,  85 

DaU  W.  H.,  326 
Darwin,  Charles,  347 

Cocoanut  Grove,  18 

Daytona,  6 

Codakias,  288,  314 

Dendrocalamus  latifolius,  367 

Codakia  tigerina,  294 

Dendropogon,  381 

Columbellas,  314 

Devonian,  174 

Comatulids,  322 

Diademas,  308 

Composite,  147 

Diadema  setosum,  287 

Conch  Town,  54 

Dimock,  A.  W.,  239 

Connecticut,  118 
Conocarpus  erectus,  270 
Content  Keys,  37,  284         V; 

Diospyros,  195 
Dipholis  salicifolia,  192 
Discina,  129 

Conus,  284 

Disston  Canal,  134 

Coot  Bay,  35,  62,  104,  106 

Donax  variabilis,  283 

Coral  reef,  8 

Dosinias,  282 

Corkscrew  River,  236 

Dredges,  318 

Cotton  mouse,  12 

Dryopteris  ampla,  205 

Cotton  rat,  12 

Dry  petes  keyensis,  162 

Crepidulas,  284 

Duck  Key,  14 

Crescent  City,  184 

Crescentia    cucurbitana,      238, 

E 

266 

Creseis,  332 

East  Cape  Sable,  76 

Crinoids,  130 

East  Coast  Railway,  14 

Crinum,  153,  266 

Eastern  rocky  ridge,  9 

Crinum  americanum,  125,  244 

Eaton,  A.  A.,  130 

Crocodilus  acutus,  238 

Ecastophyllum    brownii, 

238, 

Cross  Key,  48 

265 

Cuban  Eugenias,  148 

Echinoderms,  327 

Cudjoe  Key,  38 

Eg  retta  candidissima,  112 

Cuthbert  Lake,  35,  236 
Cutler  Creek,  236 
Cuvierias,  332 

Elephant,  145 
Elliott's  Island,  155 
Elliott's  Key,  28,  47,  154 

Cycadaceas,  174 

Entada,  299 

398                                INDEX 

Eolis,  yacht,  302,  317,  318 

Fort  Lauderdale,  24,  134,  156, 

Epidendrum  anceps,  107 

158 

Epidendrum  tampense,  99 
Epiiomium  pernobilis,  325 

Fort  Myers,  134,  136 
Fort  Pierce,  157 

Erigeron  canadensis,  164 
Erosion  marks,  18 

Fulgur  perversus,  66,  283 
Fulgur  pyrum,  66,  279 

Erylhrina  arbor  ea,  212 

Fulgurs,  293 

Eugenia  buxifolia,  43,  153 

Eugenia  rhombea,  43 

G 

Eugenias,  275 

Euglandina,  339 
Eumeces  fasciatus,  101 

Galapagos,  326 
Garriott's  West  Indian  Hurri- 

Eunica tatila,  385 

canes,  154 

Eurycotes  ingens,  100 

Gastrochsenas,  314 

Euspongia,  299 

Gaura  alba,  112 

Everglade  Keys,  10 

Gerard  de  Brahm,  Wm.,  154 

Everglade  kite,  127 

Glyptodon,  145 

Everglades,  2,  4,  9,  10,  19,  29, 

Gopher,  183 

118,  143 

Gorgonia  acerosa,  307 

Everglades  Drainage  District, 

Gorgonia  flabellum,  307 

*47 

Gorgonias,  300,  303 

Exostema  caribaum,  163 

Gorgonians,  312 

Great  brown  sea  bean,  162 

F 

Guettardia  elliptica,  196 

Guettardia  scabra,  196 

Fasciolaria  gigantea,  66 

Guiana,  152 

Fasciolaria  princeps,  294 

Guilandina,  152,  299 

Fasciolarias,  284,  288,  293 

Gulf  of  Mexico,    16,   21,   60, 

Fatlathatchee  River,  236 

119.  147 

Fatsallehonetha  River,  236 

Gulf  Stream,  2,  4,  13,  33,  36, 

Ficus,  275 

81,  82,  150,  151,  331 

Ficus  aurea,  60,  192,  195,  208, 

Guppy's  Observations,  148 

251,  266,  270,  273,  377 

Guzmannia,  380 

Ficus  brevifolia,  192,  270,  373 
Flamingo,  settlement,  35 

H 

Florida  Bay,  14,  78 

Florida  City,  35 
Florida  East  Coast  Railway, 

Halimeda  tridens,  309 
Haliotis,  326 

35 

Haliotis  pourtalesi,  326 

Florida  Enchantments,  239 

Hammock,  100 

Florida  Keys,  2,  32,  34,  35, 

Harney  River,  65,  236 

146,  152 
Florida  Plateau,  4 

Harper,  Roland,  180 
Hawaii,  23,  148 

Florida  Strait,  151 

Hawk  Channel,  33,  155 

Florida  Trails,  72 
For  slier  a  porulosa,  193 

Helicina,  311 
Heliconias  charitonius,  386 

INDEX                               399 

Wemitrochus  varians,  12 

Key  Largo,  14,  15,  28,  33,  47, 

lenderson,  John  B.,  315,  317 
Terodias  egretta,  112 

Key  Vaca,  32 

'lippocratea  volubilis,  229 
Homestead  country,  154,  161, 
171 

Key  West,  37 
Kingsley,  Charles,  216 
Knight's  Key,  16 

Hubbard,  H.  C.,  184 

Kosteletzkya,  266 

iudson,  W.  H.,  91 

lyalaeas,  332 

fydrocotyle  umbellata,  248 

Hyla,  356 
Symenocallis,    125,    153,   244, 

La  Belle,  136 

266 

Labyrynthus,  337,  338 
Lachnolaimus  maximus,  312 

I 

Laguncularia,  261,  263 

Lake  Hicpochee,  137 

Icacorea  paniculata,  193,   195, 

Lake  Okeechobee,  2,  118,  134 

365 

Lakpahahatchee  River,  236 

'lex    cassine,    60,     193,     195, 

Lantana  involucrata,  193 

flex  krugiana,  195 

Laurel  family,  182 
Layne,  J.  E.,  106 

'Indian    Hunting    Ground," 

Lee  County,  20 

34 

Lemna  minor,  248 

ndian  River,  105,  157 

Lemon  City,  20 

pomasa  bona-nox,  364 

Lepas,  280 

'pomaia,  cathartica,  88 

Lepidium  virginicum,  164 

'pomceafuchsioides,  162 

Lepisosteus,  128 

'pom&a  pes-caprce,  44,  297 
'snardia  repens,  248 
[someria,  337,  338 

Leptophys,  IOI 

Leucena  glauca,  160 
Lignunvitas  Key,  12,  47 

Liguus,   216,    339,    343,    344, 

J 

345,  351 

[amaica  dogwood,  163 
Janthina  communis,  289,  290 

Liguus  crenatus,  72,  88 
Liguus  fasciatus,  71,  88 
Liguus  solidus,  n,  51 

anthinas,  288,  332 

Lima,  313 

oe  Kemp's  Key,  14,  92,  109 

Limulus  polyphemus,  277 

ohnson's  Key,  37,  38 

Lingula,  129 

ordon  and  Evermann,  306 
os  River,  66,  236 

Lithophagus,  314 
Little  Pine  Key,  38,  57 

Jusstcea  peruviana,  243 

Little  River,  9,  236 

Littoral  flora,  7 

K 

Littorinidae,  287,  335 

Kollima  paralekta,  388 

Longley,  W.  H.,  304 
Looe  Key,  45 

Key  C,  42 

Lostmans  Key,  62 

400                               INDEX 

Lostmans    River,    Limestone, 

Miami  River,  162,  236 

9 

Microgazas,  325 

Louisiana,  169 
Lower  Florida,  6,  n,  146 

Middle  Cape  Sable,  75 
Middle  Ground  Shoal,  45 

Lower  Glades,  135 

Mid-Pleistocene  elevation,  17 

Lower  Keys,  13 

Mikania,  88 

Lower  Matecumbe  Key,  12 

Millepores,  307 

Lower  Silurian,  128 
Lucina,  183 

Mimusops  emarginata,  86 
Misantica  triandra,  211 

Lucinas,  193 

Mississippi  Shoal,  45 

Luidias,  287 

Monniera,  248 

Lyell,  Sir  Charles,  105 

Monroe  County,  156 

Lysiloma,  50 

Morus  rubra,  220 

Lysiloma  bahamensis,  162 

Moser  Channel,  16 

Mosier,  Charles,  349 

M 

Mucuna,  298 

Mud  Hole  Lake,  62 

Macomas,  283,  293 

Mud  Key,  37 

Macrocallista  gigantea,  282 

Murex,  288 

Macrocallista  maculata,  282 
Madeira  Bay,  108 

Murex  beaui,  325 
Murex  pomum,  66 

Magnolia  glauca,  161 

Murices,  293 

Mangroves,  3,  4 

Myrica,  244 

Manicaria,  299 

M  yrica  cerifera,  193,  196 

Marginella  cornea,  294 

Myrsine,  199 

Marginellas,  314 

Myrsine  rapanea,  195 

Marquesas  Keys,  34,  41,  42 

Mastodon,  145 

N 

Mayer,  Alfred,  334 

Meandrina,  306 

Nama,  125 

Medusas,  332 

Naples,  59 

Melastomaceae,  161 

Natal  grass,  165 

Mellita,  287 

Natural  inarching,  226 

Melongena  corona,  66 

Naturalist  in  La  Plata,  91 

Melongena  melongena,  294 

Nephrolepis,  99 

Melongenas,  284 

Nerita,  245,  287 

Mentzilia  floridana,  82 

Neritina  reclivata,  244 

Mesozoic,  174 

Neritodryas,  245 

Metalia,  287 

Newfound  Harbor  Keys,  36 

Metastelma,  88 

New  River,  236 

Metopium,  50,  199 

New  River  Inlet,  24 

Metopium  metopium,  43,  192, 

Noah's  ark,  313 

195 

Noctilucas,  332 

Miami,  32,  183 

No   Name  Key,   47,   48,   51, 

Miami  Hammock,  210 

57 

Miami  region,  171 

North  Cuba,  151 

INDEX                              401 

North  New  River  Canal,  134 
Northwest  Cape  Sable,  59,  75, 

Peromiscus  gossipium,  28 
Persea  borbonia,  193 

79,97 
Nullipores,  309 

Per  sea  palustris,  195 
Philbertella,  93 

Nyraphea,  125 

Phlebodium,  99 

Pholads,  80,  314 

O 

Pholas  costatus,  79 

Observations  upon  the  Floridas, 

Photinus  ardens,  359 
Phragmites,  123 

28 

Phragmites  communis,  247 

Ocotea,  391 

Physalia,  332 

Ocypoda  albicans,  278 

Physalia  arethusa,  280 

Okeechobee,  4,  120 

Pinna,  288 

Old  Land  way,  14,  19 

Pinus  caribcea,  168 

Old  Rhodes  Key,  26,  47 

Pinus  palustris,  180 

Oliva,  285 

Pisonia,  50 

Oliva  litterata,  284 

Pisonia  aculeata,  228 

Oliva  reticularis,  294 

Pisonia  obtusata,  158,  192 

Olivellas,  284 
Oncidiun  lurtdum,  1  06 

Pistia  stratioides,  125 
Pithecolobium,  50 

Ophiuran,  327 

Pithecolobium      guadelupensis, 

Ophiurans,  giant,  328 

43,  158,  192,  194 

Orchestia,  279 

Pithecolobiums,  153 

Ostrea  virginica,  66,  295 

Planorbis,  245 

Otus  asio,  355 

Plant    and    animal    highway, 

Ovulidae,  287 

10 

Ox  eye  beans,  152 
Oxystyla,    72,    88,    343,    344, 

Pleistocene,  7,  9,  163 
Pleistocene  uplife,  II 

352 

Plesiosauri,  242 

Oxystyla  floridensis,  339 

Pleurodonte,  337 

Oxystyla  resus,  12,  339 

Poa  pr&tensis,  384 

Oxystyla  undata,  343 

Polinices,  284 

Polinices  duplicata,  279 

P 

Polynesia,  182 

Poly  podium  polypodioides,  214 

Packard,  Winthrop,  72 

Ponce  de  Leon  Bay,  65 

Paguridae,  279 

Pontederia,  124 

Panama,  148 

Porites,  307 

Papaw,  1  60 

Porpitas,  332 

Paradise  Key,   73,    130,    156, 

Portuguese   man-of-war,    280, 

r57 

332 

Pecten,  283 

Portulacca,  164 

Peninsula  of  Florida,  33 

Pourtales,  Count  L,  F.f  318, 

Peninsula  of  Larga,  154 

325 

Pentaceros,  287 

Pourtales  Plateau,  317 

Peperomia,  272 

Priacanthus  (?),  304 

402                               INDEX 

Proserpinicas,  248 
Protozoans,  332 
Psilotum  triquetrum,  272 

Sabal  palmetto,  98,  145 
Saber  toothed  tiger,  145 
Sagittaria,  125 

Pterodactyls,  345 

St.  Augustine,  106 

Pteropods,  332 
Pumpkin  Key,  47 

Sambo  Keys,  45 
Sanford,  Samuel,  u,  19 

Punch  Bowl,  1  8,  211 

Sand  Key,  43,  45 

Pupillidae,  43 

Sand  Key  reef,  317 

Purpurafloridana,  294 

Sands,  A.  J.,  27 

Purpura  patula,  294 

Sargassum  nutans,  332 

Purpuras,  287,  313 

Saw  palmetto,  145 

Putorius  nigrescens,  247 
Pyrrhanea  portia,  385 
Pyrulas,  284 

Sawyer  Key,  37 
Saxicavas,  314 
Scala  pretiosa,  325 

Scalas,  325 

Q 

Scaphiopus  holbrooki,  357 

Quaternary,  6 
Quercus  minima,  181 
Quercus  virginiana,  192,  195 

Scarus  cceruleus,  304 
Scirpus  validus,  123 
Sea  shells,  abundant,  79 
Sea  urchins,  308 

R-  ;. 

Seminole  Indians,  62 

, 

Seminoles,  138 

Rafinesque,  238 
Ragged  Key  Rock,  27 

Serenoa  serrulata,  145 
Sesuvium   portulacastrum,    44, 

Ragged  Keys,  27 
Ramrod  Key,  40 
Rana  catesbyana,  356 

297 
Setaria  magna,  122 
Shark  River  Archipelago,  61, 

Rana  virescens,  357 
Randia  aculeata,  194 
Rapanea  guianensis,  193 
Rattus  alexandrinus,  101 
Rhabdadenia  biflora,  238,  265 
Rhapidophyllum  hystrix,  146 
Rhinoceros,  145 

66,  236 
Sidas,  165 
Sigmodon  hispidus,  28 
Silver  palm,  176 
Simarouba  glauca,  158 
Siphonarias,  287 
Small,  Dr.  John  K.,   10,  78, 

Rhizophora  mangle,  254 
Rhus  obtusifolia,  212,  382 
Reynosia  latifolia,  153 
Rita,  134,  138 

89 
Smilax,  88 
Snake  Creek,  236,  240 
Snapper  Creek,  236 

r»    i  i*          Tr 

Rodgers  River,  36,  147,  236 
Rodway,  James,  225 
Royal  fern,  266 

Soldier  Key,  35 
South  Carolina,  169 
Sphagnum,  274 
Spirula,  299 

g 

Spisula  similis,  281 

Spisula  solidissima,  282 

Sabal  adansoni,  145 
Sabal  megacarpa,  176 

Sporobalus,  165 
Sporobalus  indicus,  386 

INDEX 


403 


Steamer  Bibb,  325 
Stejneger,  Leonhard,  238 
Sterna  antillarum,  44 
Stimpson,  William,  326 
Strombus,  314 
Strombus  gracilior,  294 
Strombus  pugilis,  294 
Sugarloaf  Key,  38 
Summerland  Key,  38 
Suriana  maritima,  297 


Talesia  pedicillaris,  211 
Tampa,  6 
Tampa  Bay,  105 
Taylor  River,  131,  236 
Tecoma  stans,  385 
Tellina  brasiliana,  79 
Tellinas,  283,  288,  293,  314 
Ten  Thousand  Islands,  20,  35, 

61,  65,.  70,  72,  74.  147 
Tetrazygia  bicolor,  161,  196 
Thalassia,  262,  302 
Thalia,  125 
The  Glades,  118 
"The  Hummocks,"  34 
Thelyphonus  giganteus,  100 
The  Sea  Beach  at  Ebb   Tide, 

280 

Thrinax  floridana,  85 
Thrinax  keyensis,  42 
Thrinax  wendlandiana,  43,  86 
Torch  Key,  38 
Torrey,  Bradford,  214 
Tortugas,  2,  23,  41,  154 
Tournfortia,  44 
Tournfortia  gnaphaloides,  297 
Trema  floridana,  50,  161,  195, 

199 

Tricholasna,  165 
Tricholcena  rosea,  384 
Trilobites,  278 
Trinidad  Island,  216 
Tripsacum  dactyloides,  122 


Tropical  leaves,  222 
Tropic  of  Cancer,  331 
Turners  River,  65 
Typha  angustifolia,  125,  243 

U 

Uca,  267 

Ultimus  gibbosus,  314 

Upper  Eocene,  6 

Upper  Glades,  120,  135 

Upper  Keys,  10,  12,  72,  162 

Upper      Mississippi      Valley, 

135 
Utilla  Island,  Honduras,  150 


Vasum  cestus,  294 
Vasum  muricatum,  294 
Vellela  limbosa,  281 
Vellelas,  332 

Venus  cancellata,  293,  294 
Venus  listeri,  294 
Venus  mercenaria,  282 
Venus  mortoni,  67,  293 
Vicksburg  Group,  6 
Vignoles,  Charles,  28 
Virginia,  20 
Vitis  munsoniana,  382 
Volutes,  325 

W 

Washerwoman  Shoal,  46 
Weikiva  Inlet,  236 
Western  group  of  keys,  41 
West  Harbor  Key,  37 
West  Indian  plants,  7 
West  Indies,  166 
West  Summerland  Keys,  36 
White,  Gilbert,  355 


404 


INDEX 


Whitewater    Bay,    9,    61,    66, 

104 

White  Water  Lake,  76 
Wild  cinnamon,  97 
Willoughby,    Hugh    L.f     140, 

233,  239 
Windley's  Island,  33 


Xer abates  polyphemus,  183 
Ximenia  americana,  179,  193 


Yucatan,  21 
Yucca  aloifolia,  297 


Zamia  floridana,  145,  175 
Zamia  pumila,  145,  174 
Zanthoxylum,  212 
Zanthoxylum        clava-herculis, 
193 


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;  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  037  575     8 


